Full text of "Yosemite and its High Sierra"

See other formats

)i(j;s:iii)i^iiiBi(ii>;(wiww'y?''j%w^ 'HifjiVfw' fciw'^ *'■" *i»v>i i'«Ah<*ii»rvL'i]i»»Mrtt»^w»j.>viiai/ii»it»>>st'iKik

■-;:', :<

V '12

- ...i**'/^

If-^

yjtM- ;s;'"':*±:lxj,i.>"

Class _r:^ 2^

Book V_elA^r^

CojjyriglitN"^

COPVTOGHT DEPOSMi

Dnybreiik in \oseiiiit*» Cniion. Vie«' from nic: Oak FInt lloail. a thousand tvvt
al»ov4> til*' 114'rrffl KH'iT. Rriilal \'4>il Fall. iiioK^ than a mill' a^ay, KfeetN thf
itKirniii;; ^vi:h its Nonu:: anil. f:ir heyf>nil. Sentinel Donit* t4»|>N the VANt south
\>all of the \ alley.

OTHER ILLUSTRATED BOOKS
BY JOHN H. VVll.LIAMS

'THE MOUNTAIN THAT WAS 'GOD'"
'THE GUARDIANS OFTHE COLUMBIA"

THE CANOE AND THE SADDLE'

BV THEODORE WINTHROP

to which are now first added his Western Letters

AND Journals. Edited with an Introduction

and Notes by John H. Williams.

Here the glacier ground the stone,

Here spake God and it was done ;

Buttress, pinnacle and wall.

River, forest, waterfall.

And God's right hand over all.

Hear the mountain torrents call,

Swung colossal from the steep ;

See them, wind-tossed, wave and sweep ;

Hear them sound like harper's hands

On the quivering granite strands, —

Now with thunderous thud and moan.

Now with giant undertone ;

While the pine trees whisper Io\v,

And the sunset's shadows slow

Up the vast gnarled ridges go

To the roseate far snow.

— Rei: Joseph Cook: "Yoseinite."

YOSEMITE

and Its HIGH SIERRA

By JOHN Hf WILLIAMS

Author of "THE MOUNTAIN THAT WAS 'GOD'"
"THE GUARDIANS OF THE COLUMBIA" etc.

' ' There is no death; loi'e paid the debt;
Tho' moons may luane and men forget.
The mountain's heart beats on for aye;
Who truly loT'ed us cannot die."

And so I wait, nor fear the tide
That comes so swiftly on to hide
My little light. The mountains glow;
I have their promise, and I know.

— Richardson: "The Promise of the Sierra.

SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND GKEATLV ENLARGED,

WITH MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED AND

FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS.

SAN FRANCISCO

JOHN H. WILLIAMS

1921

■*\\ here the KnpiilK Itip niiil I(<>;ir.*' A tine eiiseiide <»n the
McClure Fork ot the >lereed, heh»^v \ tif^elsani;; I'iinm. It
has a flroi> of more thn.n ^ hiimlreil feet, nnd ivould be
fniiioiiN for its beauty fihy.wliere else f hnn aiiildNt the Yo-
.seniite I'nrk's creiit nrraj;' of ivat erf nils.

COPVRIGHT. 1914, 1921. BY JOHN H. WILLIAMS

JUN IAI92I

)CI.A622112

On the Summit of Clouds Rent. lookinjL;: Noutheast o%er Little Vo^emite to Mt. Clark and
its fello«-peak« of the Meroed Group.

THE SIERRA CLUB

THIS VOLUME ABOUT A NOBLE REGION
WHICH IT HAS LABORED TO CONSERVE AND MAKE ACCESSIBLE
IS CORDIALLY DEDICATED

Have you gazed on naked grandeur where there's
nothing else to gaze on,
Set pieces and drop-curtain scenes galore,
Big mountains heaved to heaven, which the blinding
sunsets blazon.
Black caiions where the rapids rip and roar?
*****

Have you seen God in His splendors, heard the text
that Nature renders,—
You'll never hear it in the family pew, —
The simple things, the true things, the silent men
who do things?
Then listen to the Wild — it's calling you.

— Robert IV. Seriice.

Starting for the \s<-rnt of >lt. I. yell.

\orlli l*i>iiu*. Itii.^iil \rt-lir> ami \\ asliiiiu (on Inlninn. n4m>ii from
the Iticroi'd Kiit'r. 'I'lie miioeiilrU* ioriiialiun In tlie uraiiit«s
^vliii'li In cliiiriM-teriNtlf* nf the ^« hole ^ oseinite region. In
u*>y\ here li«'tter nIio» n. The liiip(»Nliiu ari*hlteetiiral a.speet
off thiw Kroup. as if It were the ruins of soiiie \ast, deeayiiiK
medieval ealheilrul, \>ith 4Tiinil»llnu arehes and hrokeii eain-
pniille. niukeM It one of the iiiONt IntereNtinu rtiek fentnreH
ill A OMenilte \ alley.

The Half Dome, ^vith f louds Re^t beyond. Vie^v from the OverhnnKinp: Roek at 4*l:ieler
Point, nearly t^vo-thirds of a mile above the floor of A osemite A'alley.

FOREWORD

This new edition of "Yosemite and Its High Sierra" is much more than a reprint.
The text has largely been rewritten, with regard to the increased facilities for visiting
and exploring the Yosemite National Park, and to its fast-growing need for modern
roads. An improved map of the Park showing roads, trails and landmarks; a road
map showing approaches to the Park, and upwards of fifty new illustrations, have
been added. Credit to each photographer is given in the table of illustrations on
pp. 11-15. In expanding the fifth chapter, I aimed to give the reader some idea of
the extent and beauty of the highland forests, with a representative collection of tree
pictures, especially of the Sequoia tiiqantea. The final section, "Notes," offers sug-
gestions for brief trips to the great features of the Valley and its immediate upland.
This condensed guide I hope will prove helpful to the time-short visitor.

I have felt it a duty of every lover of Yosemite Valley to protest against the
impending ruin of its especial beauty through Congressional neglect. Since the cre-
ation of this National Park thirty-one years ago, the Government has confined its
provision for travel to and within the Park merely to taking over and maintaining
inadequate roads built by private corporations. In most cases, these have not even
been made fit for motor traffic. The need of roads out of the famous little Valley,
which would lead the increasing throngs of summer vacationists to the broad and
inviting upland near by, has long been urged upon Congress, but without result.
This need became imperative when the Park Administration took the desirable step
of admitting automobiles to the National Parks. Yosemite travel at once multiplied,
and the already overcrowded state of the Valley is seen in Superintendent Lewis's
report showing that room had to be found in the public camping grounds on the
Valley floor last summer for twenty-five thousand campers.

The State of California is soon to build the last link in a great highway, skirt-
ing the Merced up from the hot San Joaquin country to Yosemite Village. This
done, the tide of visitors will become an inundation, making Valley conditions unsani-
tary and destructive, unless Congress acts without further delay. The thousands for
whom Yosemite Valley would be unspeakably impoverished by the loss of its flower
fields and the mutilation of its forests should ask of Congress the immediate adoption
of Mr. Lewis's program for road betterments and construction in the Yosemite Park.

This edition owes much to co-operation of Government representatives. Director
Mather, of the National Park Service, kindly had the "Travel Guide Map" brought

10 YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

up to date for reproduction here. Superintendent Lewis, of the Yosemite National
Park, has responded to many calls for information. Messrs. Redington and Barrett,
of the San Francisco office of the United States Forest Service, have enriched the book
with photographs of many great trees, thus aiding me to show the important \ osemite
forests more comprehensively, 1 think, than has hitherto been attempted. 1 am also
deeph' indebted to Miss Elizabeth Keith Pond, of Berkeley, for her courtesy in sup-
plying the splendid series of her brother's photographs of winter mountaineering in
the High Sierra, and permitting me to quote from her own letter describing their
capital adventures in February.

Renewing the personal acknowledgments made in the "Foreword" of the previous
edition, I quote therefrom the following paragraphs expressing my aim in this work:

"The present addition to my series about the great mountains of the West will
serve a happy purpose if it does no more than to gain new readers for the splendid
books on Yosemite that have preceded it. One who follows in the footsteps of
J. D. Whitney, Clarence King, Galen Clark, John Muir, and Smeaton Chase must
needs enter upon his task with diffidence. Nevertheless, it is largely a new work that
I have undertaken, namely, to describe and exhibit, not merely the famous Yosemite
Valley, but the entire Yosemite National Park, so far as may be possible, by the aid
of telling pictures. The field is so vast, its mountains, cations, lakes, waterfalls, and
forests are so important and spectacular, that even the unprecedented number of illus-
trations given here can only suggest its riches of wonder and beauty. In order to make
room for the largest number of views, I have confined my text to those matters which
persons visiting Yosemite for the first time may naturally wish to know, — an outline
of the great physical features of the Yosemite country and their causes, the story of its
native inhabitants and their worthy but pathetically hopeless fight to hold their alpine
fastness, and the increasing facilities for the enjoyment of its renowned valleys and
equally inviting highlands. I shall feel it no defect in this brief essay if among my
readers some Oliver Twist may perchance ask for more!

"The choosing of more than two hundred illustrations from many thousands of
photographs involved no little labor. Much of the district was, until lately, very
inadequately photographed. Yosemite Valley has long been the best illustrated scenic
spot in America, but the wonderful High Sierra back of it has been surprisingly
neglected by the professional photographers. Fortunately for this book, however, the
large membership of the Sierra Club includes many expert amateurs, and the club's
different expeditions into the mountains have produced a multitude of photographs
that are equal to the best professional work. My first acknowledgment must there-
fore be to the photographers among my fellow-members for the unanimity with which
they have placed their negatives at my disposal Without such help, it would have
been possible to show little more than the beaten paths of Yosemite Vaile\ and the
Big Tree groves

"This book is an acknowledgment of a long-standing debt to the Sierra. Years
ago, while a resident of California, 1 became a lover of her mountains. It has since
been my good fortune to study other great mountain districts, and to learn that each
has its own special inspiration; but on returning to tiie Yosemite upland after a decade
of absence, I have still found in its nobly sculptured heights and gentle valleys a
peculiar and lasting charm possessed by no other wild landscape, American or Euro-
pean, with which I am acquainted, — a mingling of sublimity and tenderness that should
make it the joy of all Americans, and the best-guarded treasure of California."

San Francisco, May 15, 1921.

Lunoli Time on tlie Tiioliiinite, at the Sierra tl'luli's Camp near Socln Springs.

CONTENTS.

I. THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 17

II. THE CANON OF YOSEMITE 69

III. ON THE CALIFORNIA SKY-LINE Ill

IV. TUOLUMNE GRAND CANON AND HETCH HETCHY 139

V. KINGS OF THE FOREST 159

NOTES FOR YOSEMITE VISITORS:

Roads, Trails, Brief Excursions 181

Transportation 184

Entertainment 185

Automobiles 188

Nature Guide Service 188

Le Conte Memorial Lectures 188

Yosemite Museum 189

Yosemite Literature 190

Photographs and Moving Pictures 191

ILLUSTRATIONS.

The * indicates halftones from copyrighted photographs. See notice of copyright
ownership under the illustration.

PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Title Photographer Page

At the Gates of Yosemite 4

Frontispiece in color, from painting by M. Valencia, after photograph by
Pillsbury Picture Co.

Dawn at Tenaya Lake H. C. Tibbitts 16

First View of the Mt. Lyell Group Prof. Everett Shepardson 21

Vast Glacial Basin of the Merced, viewed from Glacier Point J. T. Boysen 23

Dana Mountain, seen from Tioga Lake H. E. Bailey 27

Cathedral Peak and its Neighbors Francis P. Farquhar 29

Western End of Yosemite, seen from Union Point . George Fiske 31

El Capitan (east face) George Fiske 33

Yosemite Valley, seen from Old Inspiration Point . Pillsbury Picture Co. 35

Tuolumne Grand Caiion, from above Muir Gorge . . Walter LeRoy Huber 39

Gates of Tenaya Canon in Winter George Fiske 41

Mirror Lake, with Reflection of Mt. Watkins . . . Pillsbury Picture Co. 43

Three Brothers H. C. Tibbitts 47

Tenaya Lake, at the head of Tenaya Creek Canon . . J. T. Boysen 49
"Gen. Grant" and "Gen. Sherman," with the "Four

Guardsmen" H. C. Tibbitts 51

The Domes in a Winter Storm Pillsbury Picture Co. 55

Nightfall in Leevining Caiion, below Tioga Pass ... H. C. Tibbitts 63

Banner Peak, Mt. Ritter, and the Minarets .... Walter LeRoy Huber 65

Lake Tahoe Tavern Studio, Lake Tahoe 67

YOSEMH K AND US HIGH sh;rr.\

Title Photographer

Overhansing Rock at Glacier Point George Fiske

Bridal Veil Fall Pillsbury Picture Co.

Cathedral Rocks and Spires Pillsbury Picture Co.

Yosemite Falls : . . . Pillsbury Picture Co.

*Illilouetle Fall Pillsbury Picture Co.

Canon View of Vernal Fall Pillsbury Picture Co.

Vernal Fall, from Clark's Point George Fiske

Nevada Fall, seen from Zigzag Trail (Prottlei . . H. C. Tibbitts

Nevada Fall, seen from North Wall of Canon (Froiiii . Pillsbury Picture Co.

Lake Merced J. T. Boysen

Tenaya Canon and the Half Dome, from Glacier Point George Fiske

Jeffrey Pine on Sentinel Dome Pillsbury Picture Co.

Evening Primroses and the Half Dome Pillsbury Picture Co.

At the Foot of Fernandez Pass and Gale Peak . . Chailes .McHenry Pond

Looking South from Summit of Mt. Clark Francis P. Farquhar

Summit of Mt. Lyell Prof. Everett Shepardson

Cathedral Peak Range, from Tuolumne Meadows . . Philip S. Carlton

Tuolumne Falls, at head of Tuolumne Grand Caiion . Walter LeRoy Huber

Grand Canon of the Tuolumne River Walter LeRoy Huber

Waterwheel Falls Francis P. Farquhar

Rodgers Lake Rose M. Higley

*Muir Gorge Francis M. Fultz

Central Hetch Hetchy Pillsbury Picture Co.

Upper Hetch Hetchy H. B. Chaffee

The "McKinley" Tree J. T. Boysen

Typical Sierran Forest of White Fir and Sugar Pine V. S. Forest Service

An Aged .Juniper Charles T. Mott

The "Diamond" Group. Mariposa Grove H. C. Tibbitts

Giant Sequoias at the Cabin in Mariposa Grove ... H. C. Tibbitts

A Contemporary of Noah (the "Grizzly Giant"! ... H. C. Tibbitts

The "Twins." Tuolumne Grove Walter LeRoy Huber

SMALLER ILLUSTRATIONS

Daybreak in Yosemite Caiion Charles McHenry Pond

"Where the Rapids Rip and Roar" Pillsbury Picture Co.

On the Summit of Clouds Rest Pillsbury Picture Co.

Starting for the Ascent of Mt. Lyell Pillsbury Picture Co.

North Dome, Royal Arches and Washington Column . H. C. Tibbitts

Half Dome, seen from Overhanging Rock, Glacier Point H. C. Tibbitts

Lunch Time on the Tuolumne Pillsbury Picture Co.

.lack .Main Canon and Wilmer Lake J. F. Kinman

Regulation Peak and Rodgers Lake .1. F. Kinman

Sentinel Rock (2) Fiske and Pillsbury

Hetch Hetchy as It Was U. S. Reclamation Service

A Study in Forests, Mountains and Clouds .... Clinton C. Clarke

Returning from Summit of Mt. Hoffman Dr. Edward Gray

A Glacial Landscape, with Mt. Starr King and Mt. Clark George R. King

Another Glacial Landscape: Tuolumne Caiion ... C. H. Hamilton

Washburn Lake J. T. Boysen

Mt. Clark Lee L. Stopple

Buttercups Following Retreat of the Snow .... Clinton C. Clarke

White Firs, on Eagle Peak Trail Prof. George J. Young

Snow Creek Falls Lena Redington Carlton

Two North-side Lakes, Upper Twin and Tilden (2) . . J. F. Kinman

On Coulterville Road, in Merced Grove of Big Trees S. A. Gray

Eastern End of Yosemite, from Yosemite Falls Trail . George Fiske
Benches of Glacier-Polished Granite in Upper Merced

Caiion (2) U. S. Geological Survey

Mono Pass, with Bloody Caiion and Mono Lake (2) Francis P. Farquhar

Sardine Lake, in Bloody Caiion J. T. Boysen

Mt. Hoffman, from Snow Flat Philip S. Carlton

Tenaya Peak, with Tenaya Lake in Distance .... Pillsbury Picture Co.

Indian Acorn Cache H. C. Tibbitts

Indian Grist Mill George R. King

Tenaya Creek, below Mirror Lake George Fiske

Yosemite Squaw, with Papoose J. T. Boysen

Page

103

105

109

110

115

127

181

142

143

147

14-9

151

153

157

158

161

165

170

171

175

180

34
36
37
37
38
38
40
40
42

ILLUSTRATIONS

Title Photographer Page

Polemonium • Rose M. Higley 42

South Merced Valley, from Lookout Point J. T. Boysen 44

*Happy Hours! Deer in the Park J. T. Boysen 44

Wild Flowers and Roval Arches Pillsbury Picture Co. 45

In Tenaya Caiion (2) Prof. J. N. LeConte 46

Yosemite Indian Basket Maker J- T. Boysen 48

Umbrella Tree George Fiske 48

North Dome, from Happy Isles H. C. Tibbitts 50

Blue Jay. in Merced Caiion Prof. Everett Shepardson 50

.lohn Muir in Hetch Hetchy George R. King 52

Distinguished Visitors to the Grizzly Giant .... Pillsbury Picture Co. 52

Forest Fire on South Fork of the Merced H. S. Hoyt 53

Typical Forest Trail on Sunny Yosemite Uplands . . Charles McHenry Pond 54

A Close Stand of Giant Sequoias U. S. Forest Service 56

Crossing Cold Canon Meadows Ruth I. Dyar 56

In Ten Lake Basin Walter LeRoy Huber 57

Mammoth Peak, from Mono Pass Lee L. Stopple 58

Tenaya Lake, seen from Tioga Road Pillsbury Picture Co. 59

Tuolumne Meadows, with Lambert Dome Pillsbury Picture Co. 59

Young Lake, Ragged Peak and Conness Mountain (2) . Lee L. Stopple 60
Leaving the Park via Ticga Pass and Leevining Canon

Road (2) Pillsbury Picture Co. 61

Sunset on Mono Lake . . . W. G. McPherson, courtesy U. S. Forest Service 62

Thousand Island Lake, with Banner Peak (2) . . . . Dorothy Kibler 64

The Devils Postpile . . Walter LeRoy Huber, Courtesy U. S. Forest Service 66

Merced River and Forest in Yosemite H. C. Tibbitts 69

Chilnualna Falls J. T. Boysen 70

New England Bridge at Wawona George Fiske 70

Bridal Veil Meadow H. C. Tibbitts 71

The Merced River above EI Portal Pillsbury Picture Co. 72

Cascade Falls J- T. Boysen 73

Bridal Veil Fall, seen in early Winter George Fiske 74

Winter Sports in Yosemite Philip S. Carlton 74

Cathedral Spires H. C. Tibbitts 76

Leopard Lily Arthur W. Wilding 76

EI Capitan and Three Brothers Pillsbury Picture Co. 78

A Glimpse of North Dome George Fiske 78

The "Back Road" South Side of Yosemite .... George Fiske 79

Aeroplane View of Yosemite Falls Camp Curry Studio 80

Cliff at Head of Yosemite Falls U. S. Geological Survey 81

Lost Arrow Trail H. C. Tibbitts 81

Upper Yosemite Fall Pillsbury Picture Co. 82

Middle Yosemite Fall George Fiske 84

Summit of :\It. Starr King U. S. Geological Survey 84

Yosemite in Winter, viewed from Artist Point . . . Charles McHenry Pond 85

North Wall of Yosemite Valley Pillsbury Picture Co. 85

Lower Yosemite Fall George Fiske 86

Ice Cone at Upper Yosemite Fall (2) George Fiske 88

Le Conte Memorial, Sierra Club Headquarters . . . George Fiske 90

At the Head of Nevada Fall W. J. Grow 90

Glacier Point Jutting into Yosemite Valley (2) . . Pacific Photo and Art Co. 92

Overhanging Rock on the Half Dome Pillsbury Picture Co. 93

*'Watch Me!" (Bear Cub) J. T. Boysen 93

The Merced at Happy Isles (2) Pillsbury Picture Co. 94

The "Cataract of Diamonds" Pillsbury Picture Co. 95

Little Yosemite. seen from Liberty Cap Pillsbury Picture Co. 95

Little Yosemite, with Clouds Rest George Fiske 98

Bunnell Point George Fiske 98

Sunset over Evening Clouds Pillsbury Picture Co. 100

On the "Short Trail" to Glacier Point Pillsbury Picture Co. 100

Domes and Polished Granite, above Little Yosemite . Pillsbury Picture Co. 101

Shining Granite Slopes below Merced Lake .... Pillsbury Picture Co. 101

Halt Dome at Sunrise Violet Ehrman Neuenberg 102

Agassiz Column Pacific Photo and Art Co. 102

A Characteristic Dome Landscape Pacific Photo and Art Co. 104

Sentinel Dome George Fiske 104

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Title Photographer Page

Yellow Pines George Fiske 106

Climbing the Half Dome Camp Curry Studio 107

The Fissures H. C. Tibbitts 108

Rangers' CIub-House in Yoseraite Pillsbury Picture Co. 108

Triple Divide Peait William Templeton Johnson

Panorama from Glacier Point Camp Curry Studio 112

Climbing Mt. Clark F. R. v. Bichowsky

On Lake Washburn at Sunset W. W. Lyman

*On Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point in Winter . Pillsbury Picture Co.

Tuolumne Pass (2) Clair S. Tappaan and Dr. Edward Gray

Vogelsang Pass and Vogelsang Peak Pillsbury Picture Co.

View South from Vogelsang Pass Pillsbury Picture Co.

Summer Snowfields in the Sierra (3) Charles W. Michael

Mt. Starr King after a February Storm Charles McHenry Pond

Looking South from Slope of Mt. Starr King .... Charles McHenry Pond
Looking up l>yell Fork of the Tuolumne .... Prof. Everett Shepardson

Pack-Train at Vogelsang Pass Pillsbury Picture Co.

Winter Trail to Merced Pass Charles McHenry Pond

Moraine Meadows in February Charles McHenry Pond

Rodgers, Electra and Davis Peaks J. Floyd Place

A Convenient Crack Clinton C. Clarke

On Fernandez Pass in February Charles McHenry Pond

From the Summit of Triple Divide Pass Charles McHenry Pond

Kuna Crest, from Mono Pass Rose M. Higley

Cutting Steps up the Snow-Finger on Mt. Lyell . . Walter LeRoy Huber

Mts. Dana and Gibbs (2) ' . . . . Ruth I. Dyar

"Apron" and Glacial Tarn Hazel E. Roberts

In .Mpine California Prof. E. Shepardson and F. P. Farquhar

Cockscomb Crest Walter LeRoy Huber

The "Bergschrund" of Lyell Glacier H. E. Bailey

The Uplands in July Francis P. Farquhar

Summit of Conness Mountain (2) F. R. v. Bichowsky

Returning from Ascent of Banner Peak J. Floyd Place

The Craters of Mono County J. T. Boysen

Matterhorn Caiion, from its east slope Ruth I. Dyar

A Typical Glacial Cirque on Kuna Crest U. S. Geological Survey

Piute Mountain, with Lakelet in Seavey Pass .... C. H. Hamilton

Group of 250-foot Sequoias U. S. Forestry Bureau

Nearing the Summit of Mt. Lyell Pillsbury Picture Co.

View East from Benson Pass Walter LeRoy Huber

Snow Plant J. T. Boysen

Sierra Club Luncheon on Lyell Summit Pillsbury Picture Co.

Muir Trail Paul G. Redington

Looking South from Top of Ml. Lyell Lee L. Stopple

Waterfalls and Cascades in Tuolumne Canon . . Pillsbury Piclure Co.

tipper Hetch Hetchy. from Le Conte Point .... Walter LeRoy Huber

Lower End of Tuolumne Meadows, from Lambert Dome Ruth I. Dyar

The White Cascade, in Tuolumne River Walter LeRoy Huber

Glen Aulin and Wildcat Point . Philip S. Carlton

Cookstoves on the March Ruth I. Dyar

Le Conte Falls Ruth I. Dyar

Cathedral Creek Falls Robert L. Lipman

California Falls and Upper Waterwheels Pillsbury Picture Co.

Mountain Hemlocks Ruth I. Dyar

Largest of the Waterwheels Francis P. Farquhar

Coasting on Polished Ciranite. at the Waterwheels Pillsbury Picture Co.

Sunset on Smedberg Lake Pillsbury Picture Co.

In the Heart of the Tuolumne Grand Caiion (2) . . . . Francis P. Farquhar

Little Hetch Hetchy John S. P. Dean

Weighing the Dunnage Elizabeth Underwood

Sunrise in Hetchy Hetchy Rose M. Higley

A Notable Unnamed Lake in Eleanor Caiion .... J. P. Kinman

Hetch Hetchy Gorge N. A. Eckart

Lake Eleanor J. F. Kinman

Five-Finger Falls, Hetch Hetchy Walter LeRoy Huber

Cavalrymen at the Cabin in Mariposa Grove .... Pillsbury Picture Co.

ILLLSTRATIONS

Title Photographer Page

Sugar Pine, loaded with Cones George R. King 160

The "Fallen Monarch" U. S. Forestry Service 160

A Thick Stand of Jeffrey and Young Yellow Pines . . U. S. Forestry Service 162

Spermophiles at Conness Creek Ruth I. Dyar 162

Sugar Pines and Yellow Pine U. S. Forestry Service 163

Jeffrey Pines L. A. Barrett 164

Aspen Forest at Lake Merced W. W. Lyman 166

Largest Lodgepole or Tamarack Pine in the United States Paul G. Redington 167

Black Oaks and Ferns on Valley Floor Francis M. Fultz 168

Beautiful Group of Red Fir U. S. Forest Service 169

The "Governor Tod" Group Pillsbury Picture Co. 172

"General Sherman" Pillsbury Picture Co. 173

"General Grant H. E. Roberts 174

"Alabama," in the Mariposa Grove J. T. Boysen 176

Red Fir. on Rancheria Mountain Meyer Lissner 176

Maul Oak, on Wawona Road H. C. Tibbitts 177

Mariposa Lily Prof. Ralph R. Lawrence 177

"King of the Forest," Tuolumne Grove (2) . . . . Walter LeRoy Huber 178

Three Veterans E. N. Baxter 179

Ready for the Trails H. C. Tibbitts 181

Liberty Cap H. C. Tibbitts 182

Climbing the Zigzag Trail Pillsbury Picture Co. 183

Sugar Pine George Fiske 184

In the Court at Camp Curry Camp Curry Studio 185

Camp Curry Group (2) Pacific Photo and Art Co. 186

Stanford Point H. C. Tibbitts 187

*Bear and Cubs, in lUilouette Caiion Pillsbury Picture Co. 188

Relief Model of Yosemite Valley Ansel F. Hall 189

MAPS.
From Yosemite Valley to Wawona and the Mariposa

Grove 194

Yosemite National Park and its Approaches .... Folder at back of book

Travel Guide Map of Yosemite National Park ... '

Outline Map of Yosemite Valley ....

Jack Main Cnuon and Wilnier I^ake, north of Hotch Hetehy X'alley,

Regulation Peak (el. 10,r»00 ft.), and RodE^ers Lake, the best kno^vn of many beautiful
niuiiiitiiiii InkfH In the iiortlieni part of the Park.

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

God of the open air.

To Thee I make my prayer. . .
By the breadth of the blue that shines in silence o'er me,
By the length of the mountain lines that stretch before me,
By the height of the cloud that sails, with rest in motion.
Over the plains and the vales to the measureless ocean
(Oh, how the sight of the things that are great enlarges the eyes!),
Lead me out of the narrow life to the peace of the hills and the skies.

— Henry I'an Dyke.

Mountains are the beginning and end of all natural scenery.

— Jo/iii Ri/sl/!ii.

ilHE Yosemite Country invites all lovers of the thronging moun-
tains. It offers the enjoyment of a landscape famous for its
elements of surprise and wonder. It promises the lasting in-
terest of wild upland grandeur, softened by the beauty of flower-
meadow and forest, of deep-set lakes and innumerable falling waters. A
land of superlatives, it truthfully boasts the most splendid high-walled val-
leys, the loftiest cataracts, the oldest, stateliest, and most noteworthy trees,
in the world. It multiplies the delights of mountaineering with the most
equable of sunny mountain climates. Finally, — and this is its loudest call
to thousands of true nature-lovers, — it presents a legible and absorbing
record of the making of great scenery.

It is a commonplace of foreign visitors of the boulevard type, and of
some Americans who know the towns and spas of Europe better than the
glory of their own land, that the mountain scenery of Western America is

VOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

a scenery of mere savage bigness, rather than of predominant beauty.
This easy complaint may be charged in good part to our modern demand

for luxury, and will ^ .^^^^m^^^Si*ii^^,>'^?mm4

be forgotten with K;
the multiplication of L
automobile roads ^'
and expensive ho-
tels. A fashionable f
inn on its summit, •'
with ease of access,
has made many a
third-rate hill in Eu-
rope the goal of
spell-bound tourists,

Sentinel Koek, meen from
enst anil «e.»*l, — tlie K<"en<
Xiljieier-eiirveil vHtV rlNhiK
:t.0N4i I'eet on the Nontli
side of ^ oMenilte Vllllej,
opposite 'I'liree llrotliers.
The perpenfll«'iilnr front
*ft the Sentinel, sheer for
linlf its lieiKlit, slion'N
how the elen^iiKe hns fol-
lowefl ^er(le]ii jointlnu In
(he ^rnnlle.

including droxes of our
globe-trotting fellow-
countrvmen. Ne\erthe-
less, the trite criticism
has in it a half-truth. It
is true of the Kockv

Mountain and Sierra systems to the same extent that it is true of the bleak
Swiss plateaus supporting the great snow-peaks, or the Tyrolese uplands.

THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

or the cirque country of the Pyrenees. The beauty of such scenes is not
to be measured on the scale of country estates and well-trimmed pastoral
landscape, among the hills of older regions.

High mountain lands but lately abandoned by ice-sheet and glacier
wear similar aspects the world over. They are the seats of sublimity
rather than of the picturesque. Their fascination lies not so much in soft-
ness of detail as in breadth of view, in strength of line and majesty of
form. They conjure with a story of their master sculptor, the Sun, wield-

Hetch Heti'hy ns It AVns. The Oaks are i^une, and the nohle Aalley is soon to heoonie a
beautiful Lake, storin;^ water for San Franeisco. The Kreat landniiirk, Kolana Rook,
corresponds in its position un the south trail tvith Sentinel Rook in Vctseniite.

ing vast tools of ice and snow and rushing torrent, to block out peak and
range, to lay broad glacial valleys deep with soil, to plant the highland
lakes, and to smooth the wide rock benches, which, even yet unweathered,
refuse welcome to forest or farm.

In such alpine regions, whether of Europe or America, the real out-
door man needs no handbook of science to interpret their report of ele-
mental forces, busy until comparatively recent time. Nor does the wild-
ness of the scenes, or the effort needed to attain them, weigh against the
inspiration which he prizes more than comfort. He is not offended by
the absence of those sylvan graces common only to the older lowlands.
And if, happily, prodigal Nature, in her bounty, should set down a delight-
ful picture of gentler beauty in the midst of her mountain grandeurs, he

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

A Study In ForestN, >louiitain.s, and I'loud.s. A'ie^v east from the NUiniiiit of l.aniliert Doiiie,
in Tuolumne Mendo^TS. BeKinninj:: on the left, the peaks are Dana, t>ll>l*s and llani-
moth. The cloud seenery of the Sierra is as eharaeteristic and impressive hh Its land-
scape. The forest, at this hij::h level, is mainly lod^epole or tamarack pine.

appraises it the more justly for its mighty surroundings. The ancient hills,
he knows, are man's oldest and unfailing friends; their service, past and
present, in making the earth inhabitable calls for his tribute; and year after
year finds him returning with joy to learn their lessons and receive their
strength. As Maxwell Burt gaily sings, —

There is no good denying it,

If you be mountain born.
You hear the high hills calling

Like the echo of a horn ;
Like the echo of a silver horn that threads the golden day,
You hear the high hills calling, and your heart goes away.

The character and accent of mountain landscape at its best distinguish

the whole of the Yosemite
I National Park. Its area of

1 , 1 24 square miles combines
the most rugged wildness
with innumerable scenes of
composed beauty. Extend-
ing from an average eleva-
tion of 4,500 feet on its
western boundary to the
snowy summits of the Sierra
Nevada Range, at more

Returnlne from the Summit of Mt. llonHian.

C Si

e Z

iJ '

« —

0 S
S^

U -

0 >■

_ a

»?-

■■ 0

if
a

YOSEMITK AND ITS HIGH SII-RRA

A Glacinl l.niiilNrai>e: 'I'he iloiiios i»f ^It. Starr KiiiK iriulit). ^vitli Ml. 4 lark and the
«*ir<iiie.s of tile Merred Ranf;e beyond, bounding the Illiliiuette »ater-Nhod.

than 13,000 feet, it includes the watersheds of two important rivers, the
Merced and the Tuolumne, and embraces a \ariety of upland scenery
hardly equaled in any other of our national parks.

Each of these great public outing grounds has its own especial inter-
est: the Colorado Grand Canon, its \ast gorge, with an infinite di\crsity in
the forms and coloring of the river-sculptured rock; the Rainier Park, its
single volcanic peak, imposing beyond other American mountains, crowned
with its perpetual ice-sheet, and radiating a score of huge glaciers down its
densely forested slopes; the Yellowstone, its wonderful thermal basins and
their geysers, its lakes and caiions, all blending in an unforgettable glory
of color; the new Cilacier Park, like the still grander Canadian Rockies

near by, a wealth of
smaller snow-peaks,
glaciers, and beauti-
ful lake-strewn val-
leys.

Yosemite has no
geysers. Its for-
mer mighty glaciers
ha\e shrunk to a
few pygmy rem-
nants, still lurking
deep in north-side
head-basins on the
highest peaks. But
ancient ice-sheets, of
which only these

Another (■lacial l^antlNeape: 'ruoliiltliie t'auikti, wliere 1h4»llNalld^4 c?Ui i1/~tiT',? ri^ix. litirr^t-
.. ,i ^ ... t ,., 1 . ..^ 1^ .1 aliauowa ll*J\\ llllticl.

of ^ear.s auo, llie Kreat liioliinin«' 4ila«*lt>r Icit it^ reciiril in '=^

the deep troUKb and polished uranite »loi>e!i. haVC Ictt thc StOTV

Vast Glni'ial liasiii of I In- 11fr<i-il. \i<«<Ml Iriiiii (ilinit-r I'oiiK, on .south rim of Yoseniitc Vnlley.
neloiv, in Merced Cafloii, \ rriiul und \evndil Falls drop from massive Kraiiite steps in tlie patli-
waj of the aueient :»Iereed <;laeier. On tlie left. Liberty Cap, a Klaeier-selllptllred quarter-
dome, rises a tliousnnd feet. The polislied Brauite slopes of Little \ osemite are seen beyond,
nhile the snow-elad eone of Florence Mountain (1:;,."<I7 ft.t twelve miles away almost hides the
still loftier Mt, Lyell I i:t,0!IO ft.l. several miles farther east. Mt. (lark, the "Obelisk" <11,,'00
ft.), tops the sky-line on the rij^ht.

yOSEMlTK AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

of their mass and power clearly written on what is certainly the most varied
and perhaps the most fascinating mountain landscape in America.

Such a record holds, inevitably, far greater concern for us than the
glaciers themselves could have had. The gray granite caiions which the
ice-streams dug are often as deep as that in the Arizona sandstones.
Though less gorgeously colored, they are quite as wonderful in the carving
of cliff and wall. But they have other interest found nowhere else in equal
degree. Glorious waterfalls, flung banner-like from the sheer canon sides,

Washburn l.nke <7,(M0 ft. <>l.>, on the Mrrt'cil Hl\cr, ul»€>«e l.nke Pierced. l.onK Mountain
(ll.-tOS ft.tt on tile erest of tlie Slerrii, is seen In the oentrnl illNtnnoe.

tell of complex systems of branch glaciers, once dropping their avalanches
from lofty hanging valleys. These branches radiated like a family tree
from the trunk glaciers. All were bent to denude the Sierra slope of its
sedimentary rocks, and dissect the underlying granites with hundreds of
caiions, gorges, and valleys. Some thousands of years ago, the glaciers
retreated slowly back upon the heights of the range. Each of the larger
troughs thus abandoned bore proof of its glacial origin. Instead of the
even grades of stream-cut caiions, they presented the form of giant stair-
ways, down which the glaciers had moved majestically, to yield at last to
the then tropical heat of the lower valleys. In this descent, the ice carved
steps in its path, varying in height and breadth with its own varying mass
and the character and jointing of the rock. On these steps, when the
shriveled glaciers at last reccdeil, hung a multitude of cataracts, and their

THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

deeply cupped treads held hun-
dreds of high-walled lakes.
The passing centuries have

greatly relieved the primitive

wildness of this glacial land-
scape. Forests as important

as those of the Rainier Park,

and made even more beautiful

by their universal commingling

of sunshine and shade, have

covered the upland moraines

and soil beds laid by the ice.

Many of the waterfalls on

the canon stairways have cut

through the ledges, and become

even more picturesque as cas-
cades. While scores upon

scores of the iine glacial lakes

still remain, — and a larger book

than this would be required to

show and describe the notable

lakes of the Yosemite Park, —

many others have been filled up

by stream deposit, profitably

converting bare water areas

into delightful mountain vales.

Such is Nature's cleverest art.

Here our debt to the glaciers reaches its climax. For among the

filled lake basins made possible by glacier plowing are Yosemite and Hetch

Hetchy Valleys, the chief glories of the entire Park. By the height and

grandeur of their walls, the unequaled majesty of their cataracts, the

charm of their level floors, and the variety and interest of their forests and

mountain wild flowers, these famous valleys claim place among the pre-
eminent treasures, not only
of California, but of all
America. Their splendor
is part of our great national
heritage, — part, indeed, of
"those higher things among
our possessions," as Prof.
Lyman has said, "that can-
not be measured in money,
but have an untold bearing

Buttercups Following He.rea, of the S„„,v. Thts i» "P^" ^^C filler SensibiliticS
the castoni of many early flowers near timber line. of 3. IiatlOn. *

Mt. I'lark 411.500 ft.». sometimes called the *'Obe-
lisk" beonuse of its Mntterhorn-like «Tall rising
at the liend of the Klaoial cirque seen here.

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Let IK) one, however,
who knows only these re-
nowned valleys imagine that
he has won his due share
of Yosemite's inspiration.
His birthright of beauty
and grandeur here is some-
thing e \' e n more worth
while. The two great val-
leys are of course magnifi-
cent beyond words, and
each day spent in them, or
g i \" e n to climbing their
walls, will bring new re-
wards. But I am sorry for
those who go no farther;
who cannot spend a few
days, at least, back in the
Whin- Kirs (Allies iiiii ,i, on tiic loaj;!.- Peiik Tniii. uppcr country of the MeT-

ThiN tree, KO n.-liiiril iK-ciiiiNe of its liKlit Krii.i linrk. l •"p l

iH comnion tliruiichoiit (lie I'jirk at .->.00(» to 7,000 ^^*-^ ^r lUOlUmnC, amOng

feel. .,io«i, KivinK pia.e to th.. Ke.i Kir, «i,t..h jhc lakcs and shining gran-

ahoiinilN at altitiideN ii|i to O.tKlO feet. .

ite domes of the highlands.
Even though they may climb no snow-peaks, the high mountains will wel-
come them to sit at their feet, share their gentler sunshine and broader out-
look, breathe their diviner airs, learn the joy of the upland trails, and
know that the best of Yosemite lies far from the crowds of Yosemite
Valley.

For the Yosemite country is a picture of contrasts and harmonies that
make a perfect whole. It is not to be known bv its famous valleys only.
These are but the enchant-
ing foreground of our scene,
and gain vastly by the dig-
nity and austerity of their
high mountain setting.
Viewed separately, the val-
leys, splendid as they are,
do not make the picture,, any
more than Millet's two fig-
ures bent in prayer make the
"Angelus." We need to
know the background in or-
der to get the true values of

the foreSCene. And only so, S„o»-Creek |.«l.s. o« leunya l.„ke Iran.

ftiass'si.w

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

indeed, can the highly sensational features of the valleys themselves, and
their ancient story, be understood. Yosemite Valley and its sister canon
of Hetch Hetchy, with their lesser replicas in different parts of the Park,
are all inseparable, geologically, from the High Sierra back of them.
The "dropped-block" theory of their origin has long been abandoned.
They are linked by the vanished glaciers with the snow-peaks.

Thus our Yosemite picture, both scenically and historically, looks
back, of necessity, from the warmth of its lowland grandeur to the wild
sublimity of bleak highlands, till recently the home of perennial frost.
Even here are startling surprises for one who expects no beauty on the
ice-swept heights. The
stern sculpturing of pin-
nacled granite crags that
dot the wide plateaus is
no more characteristic
of the landscape than is
their flora. Outposts
of the forests, huddled

■|M,> ^orth-^i<l<' l.ikix. I pprr
'l^viii Lnke. iiltove. in jit llie
lienil of roieauor Creek, and
f»rin.s part of the l^ake
Kleanor system. Below Is
Tildeu Lake, with Tower
Peak (11.704 ft.) in the een-

■ ''^^^"^^^^^^^^^^^^■ML,.: '''"' distanee, and Saurian

^^^^^^^^^^^Hl on the

^^^HJPI clumps of lodgepole and
white-bark pine, are ev-
'"" ' erywhere bravely scal-
ing the ridges. Throngs of hardy mountain flowers, most brilliant of
Nature's children, crowd all the ravines and lakesides, and seize upon
every sheltered nook. The shallowest pretense of soil, weathered from
the somber granites, is sufficient invitation. The short alpine summer
is long enough for their modest needs. Boldly they rush the season,
edging away the tardy snow-banks, and calling on Old Winter to be up
and going. Hardly waiting for his departure, at once they set about
their business of hiding the glacial scars with masses of gay color. This
ministry of beauty begins at the very snow-line, and grows as flowers and
forest march together down to the sunny glacial meadows, and on to the
still older valleys of the Sierran middle zone, deep with soil, and glowing
in the long summer.

Eager as Nature has been to plant the broad Yosemite uplands with

X&6&

« I ^ I a
r ttjs 1- S

• 4i [►. in _J;
T. ^ C S m

2 1, te 0.
e ^ 'S f" »

■" i S . 8

^ 5 ^ ^

« C " i ^
_ 1 8 I

= =tii

— I. - X "*

. ^ u 0 ^

lis

u s

e . u a

^ e 5 ' a

- i * S

® .a «- a ■

_ a 0 ~ »

.-4 0 cs

* S "! l- JS

s J r '3 0

2^ a § B

i « S f. 0

i r e s
r T, i =- s

5 : =

ait

* .5
« • ^ ^ o

n S " — >-

©■ C - « ■" s

^r s s e 0.

S*al5f

a, . ' e

-.'■"5 0"

^ ^ ^ h s»
f X it.s is

a
U

YOSEMITE AND ITS lllCll SIKRRA

flowers and trees,
she has scattered
other wonders here
with even greater
extravagance. Al-
most everything is
on a scale of sur-
prise. Nowhere else
in America are high-
land lakes so plenti-
ful or their settings
more superb. The
vast cataracts of Yo-
semite Valley dwart
a hundred other
great waterfalls and
cascades in the Park.
These are hardly
noticed here, but
any one of them,
could it be carried
over to Switzerland,
would become a cen-
ter of crowded tour-
ist inns. The Park's
genial forests oi
white and red firs, in-
cense cedars, sugar,
yellow and lodgepole pines, spreading up to altitudes of eight and nine
thousand feet, with graceful mountain hemlocks and indomitable white-bark
pines ranging the alpine levels beyond, thrill every lover of splendid trees.
But these are overshadowed by its groves of Ciiant Sequoias, the mar\el of
the botanical world, — immemorial trees that might have heard blind Home^
sing the fall of Troy, or furnished the timbers for Solomon's temple.

Colossal this landscape is, but its features are so well proportioned
that in their immensity we feel no exaggeration or distortion. Only when
the visitor compares them with more familiar objects does he clearly see
that here, truly, is a playground fashioned for giants. The very harmony
of its elements makes us slow to grasp the magnitude of the whole. To
know Yosemite well is the study of a lifetime, — labor well repaying the
student, as John Muir has found it. We may not quickly learn all its
magic, though even the newcomer yields to its spell. He comes again and
again who would fully know its mysteries. If Yosemite were of Greece,
how inevitably legend, seeking the clue to such perfection of beauty, or

On < (Miltcrvil

Koail. in till* >l«'r<'<Ml *;ritv** of IIIK Trees.
Kroi*' hits thirty fine Seqiioins.

W eNterii ciitl (»f \ osoiiiltt", «^itli

"eiitiiit'l ICoi'k iiii!l Kl <':ipitiiii. Mecii
iil>o\ e till* Vall«'> llooi-.

roiii I II ion l*oiii(, 2,:t.'0 feet

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

endeavoring to account for such majesty, must ha\e peopled it with gods!
The Indians of the Sierra, however, were seldom builders of myths.
Stolid and unimaginative beyond most of their brethren, they saw in their
mountains only homes, sustenance, and a tradition of defense. Super-
stitions and devil-lore they had in plenty. One of their tales, for example,
concerned Yosemite Valley, their "Ah-wah-nee," meaning a deep grassy
vale. Ah-wah-nee, they told the first whites, was the abode of demons, at
whose head was the great Tu-tock-ah-nu-lah, the "Rock Chief,'' which we

Eastern Kiifl of ViiNt-iiiite Vnlley. Neeu from Yosenilte Fall.** Trnll, near foot of I'piier
Vf>Neniite FnllN. Itcj^inniUK ivitli Glacier Point on the ri^lit. tlie .oky-lliie mUowh
KiieecMKively Mt. Starr King, tlie .^It. Clark i;rouii. Half Dome, and North Dome.

have translated into current usage in the Spanish "El Capitan." His
ominous face could be seen in the side of a vast cliff, threatening invaders
of his domain. But one suspects that this naive legend may have been
invented for a timely purpose.

The Indian tradition of Yosemite is too much attenuated by the years,
and adulterated by the fancies of white writers, to permit the acceptance
of many so-called Indian legends of present-day publication. But even
these ascribe to the aborigines here no such veneration for the great peaks,
the vast, inspiring waterfalls, and other superlative forms of Nature, as
elsewhere among primitive men clothed them with power over human lives,
or called the native to worship. Nor does it appear that their speculation
undertook seriously to explain these phenomena by a mythology such even
as grew up in the Northwest, where the legends of the "Bridge of the

El Capitnu Hlie Captaiu*, with early nionilnf;;: Hiinli);;lit ou its east face. One iie«ds the
aid of fieureK to appreciate the magnitude of this block of unjointcd f^ranite. The
brow of El Capitau is 3,100 feet above the Mereed Rfver; its actual Hummlt is 500 feet
higher. Each of its two faces exceeds ItiO acres in area. A lone tree growing on a
ledge under the arch seen In the shadow on the riglit is more than eiit^hty feet high.

YOSEMITE AND IIS IIKJII SIKRRA

Gods" and the "Battle of tiic Winds" on the Columbia Ri\er, the Puget
Sound folk-tale of the "Miser of Takhoma," and the like, show the In-
dian's restless mind allying Nature with his daily life, and seeking curi-
ously to unravel her problems, lor the Vosemite Indian, the unknown
darkness held only ghosts and witches. His unawakened, easily-satislied
soul knew little reverence either for the Great Spirit or for Nature. His
gods were animals. Higher than the animals his thought seldom rose.
His mountains offered him no vision. The loud eloquence of their cata-
racts stirred him only
to fear. The wise
voices of their king-
ly and age-old trees
gave him no counsel.
Yet these mountains
supplied him with a
place to ll\e In, in
comfort and aborigl-

Ilent'he.s of Massive (irsin-
ite in the I'pper Merced
Canon, iMilislied hy llie
^liiciers, 11114I no^v siow-
ly lUililnK olV linfler tlie
lllons of frost nnil sun.

nal luxury. They
provided him with
acorns, nuts, game,
and other food. They
enabled him to hide
in pathless canons, where pursuit, he deemed, was impossible, and from
the walls of which he might roll down rocks upon any who should attempt
to penetrate his mountain fastness.

It is not surprising, therefore, that our first native tradition of the
Yosemlte represents the Red Man as telling white trespassers that Tutock-
ahnula, the great cliff towering yonder above them, would surely punish
their intrusion Into his Ahwahnee. The white tide was rolling steadily
across the plains to the Pacific. A wave had swept up the coast from
Mexico. All lowland California was Inundated. The lure of Kl Dorado,
the golden god, was lilling the lower \alleys of the Sierra with greedy and
ruthless fortune-hunters. The mountain Indians had no wish to be "civil-
izetl" as their cousins of the San Joaquin had been. Hence even as early

YOSEMITE AND ITS HUill SIERRA

as 183.3, long before the discovery of gold and the rush of miners to the
foothills, Captain Joseph Walker, the first white man to lay eyes upon the
Yosemite country, was carefully warned by his Indian guides away from
the great valleys, and made to keep his course on the highlands parting the
Merced and the Tuolumne, where now a growing stream of travel each
season crosses the Park on the Tioga Road. And when the gold-hunters
came, a notable figure, if California furnished any notables to the roll

of Indian history,
arose on behalf of
his diminished tribe
to dispute their ad-
v'ance into the be-
loved canon. Ten-
aya, the Yosemite
chief, is the most
memorable and pic-
turesque native lead-

Above, Mono PflNM (el.

ll>,.'!l!l ft.), lookiiiK nest,
^vltli ^Iiiiiiiiiotli >loun-
tiiiii iiikI I\iiii!i <'r4'Mt <»n
Ict'l. Ilclon. Illixxly
<'iini>n iiiul \\ :ilk«'r Lake,
ivitli \\ illtiiiiis Hiitte and
Mono I. like beyond.

er in the rich annals
of the Golden State.
The actual dis-
co\ery of this Indian
stronghold is a mat- ^^^^^^^^^,
ter of some debate.
Whether it was Walker, in '33, or Savage's frontier militia of '51 that
first looked down into the vast Yosemite gorge may never be established.
Each expedition, however, is part of our story.

History has done scant justice to Joseph Reddeford Walker. He
belonged to that small group of intrepid frontiersmen who did much but
wrote little, and whose achievements have been ignored through their own
neglect of fame and the claims of more ambitious rivals. Walker's failure
to publish his discoveries, and the fact that he served under a jealous com-
mander, who was even capable of claiming them for his own, have com-
bined to obscure his work. That he led a party of Bonneville's men in
the first exploration westward from "the Great Salt Lake;" that he dis-
proved the then accepted belief that that lake drained into the Pacific; that

THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

Sardiue l^ake, filliuK n Klaoiul oirque
belon' 3Iono Pass.

Bloody Cuiion,

he established the
existence, extent and
character of the
Great Basin; that
he charted its rivers
and lakes ending as
they begin in the
desert; that he dis-
covered and was the
first to cross the Si-
erra Nevada Range,
entering Alta Cali-
fornia through the
Mono Pass and leav-
ing it the next year,
1834, by the route
since known as Wal-
ker's Pass; — here,
surely, was a real "pathfinder," worth a clear and permanent page in
Western history !

Walker concerns us, not only because he was the first white visitor to
the Yosemite region, but especially because the claim is now made by his
family and others that he "discovered and camped in Yosemite Valley."
The evidence available hardly seems to sustain this claim in full.

On the stone over Walker's grave, in Alhambra Cemetery, at
Martinez, is this line, said to have been placed there on authority of

Captain Walker himself:
"Camped at Yosemite, No-
vember 13, 1833;" and
Munro-Fraser's "History
of Contra Costa County,"
published in 1882, six years
after Walker's death, con-
tains a sketch of the ex-
plorer, quoting his nephew,
with whom he spent his last
years, and saying: "His
were the first white man's
eyes that ever looked upon
the Yosemite, which he then
discovered, although the
honor has been accorded to
some other person at a peri-
od twenty years later."

Mt. Hon'ninn, fruni Suon^ Flat, on the Tioen Road. This
maMN of Krnnlte ramparts Is the erest of the divide
between A'oseniite Vnlley and the Tuoliiniue.

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Tennjn I'riik ( Kl.Tim fl.(, on Ihf riKhl. «Uh i'rnajt

.!ike in the iliMtnn4>t> at its fiiot.

Thus it is seen that the present claim goes somewhat beyond the testimony
of Walker and his nephew. We may accept "Camped at Yosemite," hut
are we warranted in assuming that "at" means "in"?

On the contrary, Dr. L. H. Bunnell, who
was of the Savage party visiting the Valley in
1851, and who named it "Yosemite," says in
his well-known and entirely trustworthy account
of that expedition, "Discovery of the Yosem-
ite" (4th ed., 1911, pp. 38, 39):

I cheerfully concede the fact * * * that "his were the
first white man's eyes that ever looked upon the Yosemite"
above the valley, and in that sense he was certainly the
original white discoverer.

The topography of the country over which the Mono
trail ran, and which was followed by Capt. Walker, did
not admit of his seeing the valley proper. The depression
indicating the valley, and its magnificent surroundings, could
alone have been discovered, and in Capt. Walker's conver-
sations with me at various times he was manly enough to
say so. Upon one occasion I told Capt. Walker that Tenie-ya
had said that "a small party of white men once crossed the
mountains on the north side, but were so guided as not
to see the valley proper." With a smile the Captain said:
"That was my party, but I was not deceived, for the lay of
the land showed there was a valley below; but we had be-
come nearly barefooted, our animals poor, and ourselves
• lu the verge of starvation, so we followed down the ridge
to Bull Creek, where, killing a deer, we went into camp."

Again, on p. 78, Dr. Bunnell says Walker

Iniliail Aiorii t iulii- (riiii.k- , , , . , u i • t T l AT • l

i.ii"(— « larKe "ii-k.-r basket told him that his Utc and Mono guides gave

Net on post.*,, and tliatrliril i ]* i r I - r I I

^^nu pin.- i>raa.-in-», poiniis such a dispial account ot the canons or both

fltttvn, t4» keep uiit .sqiiirrelw ^ I ^ I 1 .^ I * ^ ^I

„,„, ,„i,.e. n\ers that he kept his course near to the

a s i

Z ^ Z

t s c

- x =

. ~ s

£ a

.St-

^m^- -'"^^v

ii5

: in

4' c

^ =£:

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

divide," — that is
between the Tuol-
umne and the Mer-
ced. With no other
chronicle of this first
expedition, Bun-
nell's quotations
from Walker and
the Yosemite chief
enable us to see
the weary explor-
ers struggling up
the steep defile of
Bloody Canon from
the volcanic Mono
, ,. plain, descending

Inilian (Jrist-^I ill. An iiiiportnnt artlele of Sierra Inilhin diet '^

^vns meal made l»y pouiidin;; lilaek-»ak aeoriiM in rude mor- thc long WeStCm

far** in the granite. The meal was hleaehed ivilh hot water i Kalf cf-n r\^pH

to remove the hitter taste, and hnked into hard cake hy SlOpe, nail SiarVea,

dropping heated stones into cooking baskets containing the and floundcrinff

paste, Snoh acorn bread is still made by the Indians. ^

through the un-
tracked snow of November on the divide, to reach the warm San Joaquin
Valley, and at last the sunshine and comfort of the provincial capital,
Monterey. Probably Walker's route was much the same as that of the
later Tioga Road. The Indians had kept the secret of their warm Yo-
semite home.

We must conclude, I think, that while Walker first traversed the
Yosemite uplands, and was, in that sense, as Bunnell admits, "the original
white discoverer," the honor of first visiting the floor of the Valley and
making known the majesty of its walls remained for the "Mariposa Bat-
talion." Of that
second expedition
we have a vivid and
minute narrative.
Dr. Bunnell's ac-
count of It, and of
the Indian war of
1851, of which it
was a part, is some-
thing of a frontier
classic, and, I be-
lieve, a wholly con-
scientious and credi-
ble report. Ten-

aya, rather than any Tenaja treek, belon Mirror l.ake

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

iii. 1

white leader, is unmistals.ably its hero. In the
old chief's last stand for the mountain fortress
of his people, we see the Indian at his best.

Ihe gold-seekers and game-hunters of "49
and '50 were pushing the natives back into the
mountains; the Indians were retaliating as usual
uith robberies, burnings, and occasional mur-
der. To the reservation established by the In-
dian commissioners on the Fresno, near the site
of the present town of Madera, some of the
hill tribes had come peaceably. Others were
brought in b\ the militia companies of the new
State go\ernment. But far in the heart of the
Sierra, the half-breed scouts reported, near the
head of the Merced River, was a small tribe
that refused to leave its deep, rocky Valley.

"There," they said, "one Indian is more than
ten white men. Hiding places are many, and
the Indians will hurl rocks down upon all who
pursue them. Other tribes dare not make war
on thein, for they are lawless, like the grizzly
bear, whose name, Yo-Semite, they have adopted,
and as strong. We fear to go to this Valley.
There are many witches there."

Messengers sent to the Yosemites failed, but
at last their chief came, alone. Addressing Ma-
jor Savage, a veteran frontiersman who commanded the Battalion, the

grave old Indian is said to have spoken this brief oration: "Mv people

do not want anything from the Great Father

you tell me about. The Great Spirit is our

father, and has supplied us with all we need.

We want nothing from white men. Our

women are able to do our work. Go then ;

let us remain in the mountains where we were

born, and where the ashes of our fathers

have been given to the winds. I have said

enough."

Tenaya was sent to bring in his tribe, but

only a part came, mostly the old and the \ery

young. The aged chief, when chargcil with

deception, promised to go on with his people

to the soldiers' camp. .Maior Sa\age, he

. . . 1 ^' 11 - 1 - 1 • PoU'iiioiiiiiiii iV. f\iiiiiiiiii I, at

said, might go to the \ alley with one (it his i::.ooo rt., near i-nrker i'n»s.

.1 • 1 I I 1 I r I Tliij* dariiiK blue perennial

youths as a guuie, hut he would linci no one seeks tue iii^iiext Kiope!i.

.-mf

A'oMOniilo S4|iia^\. with PnpooKe

>lirror Lnke, at imnitli «il IViinvn ( afum, with rvttevtion of Mf. \Va<kiii», riNifm morv than
4,000 feet ahove its siirfaee. Perfeet relleetions Hiieli as this are seen ouly ill the early
morning: interval between tlie downward eurrents of the night und tlie warm windsi
that draw up tlie Sierra slope as soon as the nuii strikes it.

YOSEMITE AND ITS lll(;il SIERRA

Soath Merced Valley, seen from Lookout Point, on the rontl from Wnwona to YoNenilte.

there; the younger men from Mono and the Tuolumne who had married
into the tribe had gone back to the mountains. "My tribe is small," he
declared, "not large, as the white chief has said. The Piutes and Monos
are all gone. Young and strong men can find plenty in the mountains;
why should they go to see the white chiefs, to be yarded like horses and
cattle? I am willing to go, for it is best for mv people."

Sending Tenaya and his band on to the camp, upon the South Fork
of the Merced, Savage and his men proceeded across the upland through
deep snow, and on March 21, 1851, descended to the mysterious Valley.
There they found only an aged squaw. It was as Tenaya had said; the
young men and their women had disappeared, and after a brief survey
the disappointed whites recrossed the wintry hills to their camp.

During this first
visit of white men to
the Valley, Dr. Bun-
nell proposed naming
it Yosemite, after its
Indian inhabitants.
Thus the beautiful
name was adopted,
though not without
-^ the usual opposition
from men who saw in
the Indian merely a

Ilniipy

(.OPtftlliHI. J I BOTSEN

li('<»r art' n fnniilinr NiKlit <'V**r>ivhere iu the

loiirN!

liplHiid forrKlN niul nieaflowM of III*- l*ark.

THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

savage to be de-
spoiled of his lands.
But the Indian
name, as I have
said, was Ah-wah-
nee. Its ancient
tribe had been al-
most exterminate!.!
by disease many
years before, and
the Valley home
abandoned, until
Tenaya, son of an
Ahwahneechee fath-
er by a Mono moth-
er, had led back the
few survivors of the
race, re-enforced by
renegade Monos,
Piutes from the Tu-
olumne, and fugi-
tives from the low-
land tribes. The
mongrel clan of sev-
eral hundred mem-
bers proudly adopt-
ed a new name given
it by others, Yosem-
ite, or Grizzly Bear,
for the ill-reputed
animal which the In-
dians most feared
and emulated.

Savage never got

his captives to the Fresno reservation. When nearly there, alarmed by
runners from the hostile Chowchillas on the South Fork, and taking ad-
vantage of the relaxed vigilance of their guards, they fled in the night, and
were not again to be tempted away from their Valley. Inducements suc-
cessful with other tribes were rejected with contempt. Gaudy clothing
and cheap presents Tenaya declared no recompense for loss of freedom
in their mountain home. Even the offered beef was refused; the Indians
preferred horse-flesh. Hence, after the Chowchillas had been subdued,
and the other tribes had made treaties, Savage sent a second expedition,
under Captain Boling, to bring in the stubborn Yosemites. Bunnell again
was of the party, which expected to have little diflicultv in persuading

Wild FloM'ers licnenth the Royal Arche.s,

VOSKMITF. AMI I is I1K;1I SIERRA

Tenaja to surrciuicr. But on rcachiiij^ the valley in Max, Boling tounJ
only deserted wigwams and smoking ash-heaps, telling of a hasty Hight.
Three of the chief's sons were captured at the foot of the great rock then

named, in memory of the cap-
ture, "Three Brothers." One
of these youths was killeti in
trying to escape, and shortly
afterwards Tenaya himself
was caught iiv Boling's Indian

11 (aniiii. TIm*

ii|>|icr

^ lew

lit T*»iinj

loiiks

»iit-k (
iiir sli

o ni4- liiil
o« s (lie 'A*

l>4»iiie: tlic
!•;;«* Iilorkrd

lower

l> y n

lnm«*

1 Iiltr.

I'lie

sto**|»

NOIltll

^Vllli.

<«t\<>|»t li>

u\ aliinclics

I'ver.v

.spriiiu t'i'otii t

U' sill

e of

('IoikIn

nvf*i

is sir II i

1 I'JU'll

nii-

liiro. '

Iiis V

iridii <»ll't*rN

Krt'iit

difli-

ml ties

to (1

r flinilwr.

scouts on a high bench east of the "Big I-alls," whence he had been w atch-
ing his enemies helow. When he saw the body of his son, his grief found
vent only in a look of hatred that Boling well understood. No word could
be coaxed from him in reply to the Captain's regrets for the youth's death.
A day or two later, he made an unsuccessful attempt to escape across the
swollen Merced River. Then at last his grief and rage found utterance

a V ii

* s ^
= 5|

■- ■* «

' ... s
■; a a

a 0 c
= 5 =

. I ^
5§z

H — —

a 4)5
""fa

■5 s-

= - " 3

= ? o s

il:

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Yosemite Indian lliiNk4*t-Miiker. \\on\iiiu ii Imrilrn hiiNket.
large liaNket to the left in for oooklug.

Tlie

in pathetic words.
"Kill me, Cap-
tain," he cried, "as
von killed my son;
as you would kill my
people, if they were
to come to you. You
have made my life
dark. But wait a
little. When I am
dead, my spirit will
make trouble for
vou and your peo-
ple. I will follow in
your footsteps, and
be among the rocks
and waterfalls, and
in the rivers and
winds. You will not
see me, but you shall
fear the spirit of the
old chief, and grow
cold."

Tenaya's appeal to the unknown was as futile as eloquence generally
is. The white conquest paid no heed to his threats. Steadily rounding up
the savages, Boling's party captured the last of their band at a rancheria
or village a few miles above the valley, on a beautiful lake walled by pol-
ished granite cliffs and domes, which they at once named Lake Tenaya.
"But it already has a name," Tenaya protested, — " 'Py-we-ack,' Lake of
the Shining Rocks." The naming of a lake in his honor seemed to him a
poor equivalent for the loss of his territory. Another chance was given
him. Taken at last to the Fresno, he soon begged for leave to quit the
heat and dust of the
reservation; and on
his pledge of their
good beha\Ior, he
led back his people
once more to the
cool spaces of the
Yosemite. The aged
sachem himself kept
faith, but he could
not control his young
men. The killing of

prospectors" in the -l mlirella Tree," a sno«-flattene<l pine a( lieml of Xevaila Fall

YOSEMITK AXn ITS IIICII SIKKRA

Aortli l>4»ine, .s4*fii l'r«*iii

\ alley the next sum-
mer quickly brought
a third visit from
the soldiers, and the
final dispersion of
the Yosemitcs. It
hardly detracts from
the pathos of Ten-
aya's losing fight for
his wild home that
he and his last hand-
ful of followers were
killed by Monos
whose hospitality
they had repaid by
basely stealing their
horses. The Indian
code did not recognize other people's property rights in li\e stock.

Present-day visitors to ^ osemite are often disappointeil that their first
impression of the height of the Valley walls falls short of published ac-
counts. Yosemite magnitudes are not quickly realized. Hven Dr. Bun-
nell was ridiculed by Captain Boling and others when he estimated the
superb granite cliff opposite their camp as at least fifteen hundred feet
high. Some guessed fi\e hundred, others eight hundred. Not even Bun-
nell himself dreamed that El Capitan actually towered more than three-
fifths of a mile above the silent Merced.

Its Indian inhabitants gone, Yosemite soon came into public notice.
As early as 1855, the first tourist parties visited the Valley. Trails were
quickly opened, rude inns established, and, in 1864, John Conness, a Senator
from California, introduced and Congress passed an act granting to the
State "the 'cleft' or 'gorge" in the granite peak of the Sierra Ne\ada
Mountains . . . known as the Yosemite \'alley, with its branches or
spurs, and in average width one mile back from the main etigc of the
precipice, on each side of the Valley, with
the stipulation, nevertheless, . . . that
the premises shall be held for public use,
resort, and recreation." To this grant was
added the " 'Mariposa Big Tree Grove,'
not to exceed the area of four sections."
In 1890, Congress created the Yosemite
National Park, subject to the grant of
1864. Its lines have since been modified
considerably by Acts of 1905 and 1906,
excluding the head basins of the north and
middle rorks or the San Joaqum, and em- venmi i-aii.

The *'<'ieneral Grant" and ''General Sherman", «'ith the "l-'oiir (■iiitrilMiiieii". in (lie >Iariposa
Grove. Readers should not confuse the t\V4» trees here tvhieh popular eustoni has named
for the famous American soldiers >vith the f»lder and larger trees thus called in the General
Grant and Sequoia ( Roosevelt ► National F'arks, farther south. These trees, ho^vever, are
4»f eonsiderahle size, the "Grant" havin;^ a diameter «»f twenty-one and the "Sherman** of
tiventy feet. The "Guards" are younger trees of sreat heauty, averaKlnc perhaps fifteen
feet in diameter, and notable for their typical arrtiw-head crowns, not yet broken by
storm or liK^htnlnf?. The graceful small tree in the center is a young Sequoia.

YOSEMITK AND ITS HIGH SH:RRA

.luhii >liiir ill llt'li'h Il('t4*li>. Tlio Irec k1ii»«\ ii
Imti' is ]| fiiH" «vv.-iin|jlt' ol" ^ I'lliiiv I'iiie.

bracing more completely the water-
sheds of the Tuolumne and Mer-
ced Rivers. Its area, as already
noted, is now 1,124 square miles.
The dual administration estab-
lished by the creation of the Na-
tional Park surrounding the State
Park was soon found impracticable
and disastrous. The State com-
missioners did the best they could
with the ten or fifteen thousand
dollars annually \oted by the Legis-
lature, but these inadequate appro-
priations were largely consumed
in the salaries of park guardians
and the traveling expenses of the
commissioners; little was left for
needed improvements. Much of
^Osemite Valley was fenced in, and
let to private contractors. Con-
flicts occurred between the State
and Federal authorities. A forest tire, for example, was sometimes left
to burn while the officers debated as to which jurisdiction was responsible.
John Muir was one of the first and most active in pointing out the
importance of ending this impcrhim in impcnu. His opportunity came in
1903, when he was invited by President Roosevelt to accompany him on
his visit to Yosemite. Gov-
ernor Pardee, President
Benjamin Ide Wheeler of
the State University, and
other well-known men were
of the party, which received
Mr. Muir's arguments for
the recession of the \ alley
and Big Tree grove with
unanimous approval.

A \igorous State-wide
campaign was started by
the Sierra Club, the strong
California society of moun-
tain-lo\ers of which Muir
was president. The plan ,,i,ii„;.„i, \i,i.,.r^ i.> u..- i..iy./i.> «. o,, i-,, si-
won ireneroLis suDUort from '''"'" '«"<>'"■»<■"•■'' ■'«'•< "■■<• <ii<i<'ni imh.im.i :inii <...».

UOIl gCllClOUS SUppi^llL llUill ,.„r,|,... s l<-ll. .loiiii Miiir. il.ii.inii.iM iili- \\ii.-.l,-r.

the newspapers of the State, rt.-. <>ii< ..i iiii~ »i»ii Br.->> <ii.- ■■.•••.■s»i..ii ..i i.>s.-iiiii.-

,, ^. IX'* \'iiil«-^ 1111(1 ill*' >liiri|i*iNii <;rove. niiil lln'ir iii*-or|iorii-

as well as from tfie .\ati\e ,„„> \» nu- ^l.».•lllil.• \iiii<>ii:ii rnrk.

THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK.

5.?

Sons and other large organizations; and was eventually successful, though
its advocates had to overcome bitter opposition, both at Sacramento and in
Washington, from certain politicians and favored concessionnaires whose
private interests conflicted with the public advantage.

The recession, which was accomplished in 1905, has been amply justi-
fied by its results. Better order prevails, a beginning at least has been
made in the building of needed roads, hundreds of miles of trails have been
opened, the forests are protected, and in every way the rights and con\-e-

Forest Fire on Soiith F<trk 4»f the >Ier<'ecI. in'ar Wawoiia. This iiieture. n f»»rreful ser-
lil<»n n^^nitiKt careles.sncMs with lire on iiiolliitain trails. I<»(»lvs iliiwn fri>iii W aiv<»na I'oint.
aln)ve the >lari|»osa (;r<>ve <»f llij;" Trees, The priceless Seliu(»i:is themselves iiii;^lit h:n e
been ruined had not this ;ireat 4*onllaK'ratioii heen extinguished.

nience of the public are promoted. The Federal management, while some-
times severely criticised, and not always unjustly, has obtained and eco-
nomically expended Congressional appropriations now annually a\eraging
$300,000, and this money has paid for improvements that would still be
lacking under the clumsy dual system. Xo one who views the matter im-
partially can now be found to ad\"ocate a return to the old regime. For
the far-sighted Park Administration of to-day is developing here, as rapidly
as Congress can be persuaded to pro\ide the means, a real people's recrea-
tion ground, commensurate with the public need and the opportunity af-
forded by the Park's scenic resources. Under the system of divided rule
such progress would not have been achiexed in a century. But much is.
still to be done.

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

When I first jour-
neyed up to the Yo-
semite highlands,
twenty-four years
ago, the name "Yo-
semite"" signified,
e\"en to a majority of
Californians, merely
the seven-mile cation
known as Yosemite
Valley, with its sen-
sational cliffs and
cataracts, its for-
ested floor, the curi-
ous domes towering
upon its rim, and for
some visitors the
Mariposa (Jirove of
(jiant Sequoias, seen
en route. To reach
even this limited
goal cost heavily in
time, comfort and
money. The number
of visitors, natural-
ly, was small, and
their stay short. Few

T}|>i.:il I'.. rest Trail on the Sunny \<.spniil<- l|il:inils. Sunrise pCnCtratcd bcyOnd
Trjiil. leading from Little Yosemite to TuoUliiine Meadoivs. fhp nnteA Vallev tCi

view the yet nobler High Sierra. Clarence King and John Muir, almost
alone among men who commanded a public hearing, had done something
by exploration and writing to interest their fellow-countrymen in that great
sunlit hinterland which stretches up to California's far, snow-capped sky-
line. But roads into this alpine paradise were wholly lacking, trails were
scarce, and only expert mountaineers quit the beaten track.

It was then quite commonly assumed that our National Parks were to
be left for the most part in their virginal wildness, — something which the
general public would neither need nor care for, and which would be visited
chiefly by professed nature-lovers. Only an inspired dreamer like Muir,
or an enlightened foreign observer of our national needs like Bryce, could
have foreseen that the public itself would soon demand their development
for the relief and instruction of the people at large, and especially of the
inhabitants of our superheated valleys and towns.

Recognition of this requirement has been slow, and nowhere slower
than in Congress, among politicians absorbed in securing for their own

YOSEMIll. AM) IIS lll(;il SIKKKA

A I'lose Stniifl of (. la 111 ^i (liti>t;t^. U ,1 11.^ l;i^ 1 i . . ^ >,., , .4<l .i i i It* 1 1 liii^t-, lik«- I lit- «*iii- on I lie
It'll. «lii«*li is 4'r('(lit(Ml ivilli ,-i ili:iiii('l«-r *»f iiior** than t«enly-Hvt' ftM't. Hut lliis rapidly
ilitninislifs al»<»ve, so that at lliirt> f(*«*l fr«»iii tlie f^riiuiKl it iN |»r4ilial*l.v It's.s tii;ill
liftccu feet.

districts the largest, fattest slices from the pork barrel. "Statesmanship"
has ne\-er been keen for what it contemptuously terms "scenery." It was
eleven years after California recedetl the Valley and Big Tree Grove
before the Congressional grants exceeded $100,000. But beginning in
1916-17, the Park has had approximately $300,000 a year for upkeep ami
betterments. This is about one-half the sum, conservatively estimated in
view of the increasing rush of \isit()rs, that should be spent annually for

five or six vears on
^ well-planned roads
alone, if the Park is
to be made accessi-
ble in proper degree
to those who most
need its opportuni-
ties for rest, inspi-
ration and sport.

It will surprise
many who read this
to learn that all of
the roads entering
the ^'osemite Na-
tional Park have

i'rossinK t'ohl I aaoii ^It'ado^vs. itn li-aii Ix'f \\ I't'ii I oiiiit'ss ('re«'k
and \'iruinia t'afion. This is n 1>|iical lillt-d ulat'ial lake.
There are hiindreils of sik-Ii lironil. sliiiiiiiu niilaiiil inendti^vs
in the l*ark. eaeli a park in itself. ear|»cted %%itli the finest
STasH and hrllliant ^vith al|»ine Hif^vers.

THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK.

been built by private enterprise, none by the Government. There are five
of these, and three are old toll roads which the Park Administration has
taken over and is now maintaining, in spite of grades often as high as
twenty per cent., for want of money to re-locate them. The road descend-
ing the south wall was made by the owners of Wawona, the well-known
mountain inn on the route to the Mariposa Big Trees. The Coulterville and
Big Oak F'lat Roads were also originally toll roads. With elevations well
above six thousand feet, all three of these highways are sometimes closed

111 Ten Lake llasin. This re&'ion. lyinp: between "^It. H«>iViiian anil the Tuoliiiiiiie <*raii(l
Caiion. offers delightful lake seenery, tine tisliiiiK. ami beautiful forests. \t :iii altitiiile
of !t,.'UO feet, the trees .seen here are the shapely niouiitaiii heniloek, with tttlier habitues
of sub-alpine levels. It is reaelied by trail from the Tio^^a Roail.

by snow till June. The fourth road into the Park leads up the wild Mer-
ced Canon, from the terminus of the Yosemite Valley Railroad at El Portal.
It was built in 1907, and although its fourteen miles lie almost wholly
within the Park, the Government compelled the railway to build it, in order
that it might deliver its passengers by "auto-stages" at Yosemite Village.
This fine highway the Park Administration also owns now, and has been
forced by the tremendous traffic of heavy vehicles to regrade it. The road
will be hard-surfaced as soon as money can be had for that purpose.

These roads were all built to bring people to Yosemite Valley, none
to carry them into the uplands above it. Over the three ridge roads, not-
withstanding their short season, came most of the 13,400 private automo-
biles which entered the Park last year. The fourth road, extending as it

58 YOSEMITE AND ITS HKiH SIERRA

does only from Yosemlte to Fl I'ortal, is as yet merely a continuation of
the railway. But the State road now building back into the Sierra from
Merced, and already completed as tar as the village of Mariposa, will
doubtless be finished to El Portal within two years. Laid on easy grades,
this will give automobilists a well-made highway, following the level of the
Merced River, directly to the floor of the Valley. Open all the year, it
will make Yosemite the most thronged of California winter resorts, the
Mecca of every tourist, as of multitudes of Californians; while in summer

i>llliiiiii(>tll I'eiik 4 11!, 22.' ft.). Keen fr4»iil Hullo 1*ii.sn. en route to Bloody f'aflon.

it will carry into the Park an unbroken procession of motor vehicles from
all parts of the State, led by an army of refugees from the sun-baked San
Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys.

Yosemite Valley is thus threatened with a popularity which all lovers
of its gentler values may well deprecate, — a patronage they would fain see
spread over a wider area. It is in grave danger of speedily becoming the
most overcrowded tourist center in America. Only prompt relief through
the providing of easy access to the highlands can prevent the destruction
of much of its charm. Beginning with the admission of automobiles, in
1915, the congestion of hotels and hotel camps, and even of the public
camping grounds, has grown apace. But this park-like vale, with all a
park landscape's delicacy of flowers and trees, was not planned by Nature
for the bivouac of a city's population. The need of roads to the upland
eastward has cried aloud to Congress for years. To-day the lack of them
is a scandal. To-morrow, with the completed State road from Merced
pouring lifty thousand automobiles into this cul-cle-sac in a sunmier. it will

VOSKMITK AM) MS IllCn SIKKRA

be a crime, — a crime against the people, for whose recreation and instruc-
tion the Park, was set apart, and who need the great open spaces of the
High Sierra; and equally a crime against the priceless beauty of the Valley
floor, where forest and flowers now suffer increasingly from the vandalism
of transient campers. But still Congress halts. Those who would escape
the crowds and noise of the \'alley can gain little of the high country save

by climbing rough mountain trails.
That method of travel, though it un-
questionably has much to commend it.
is impracticable for many who need
the uplands most. Only one district
east of the \'alley is now reached by a
highway, — an interesting old moun-
tain road, built for the teams of a
mining company, with the happy dis-
regard of all mining roads for grades,
and no expectation of e\er serving
automobile tra\el.

This is the fifth of the roads into
the Park, to which I ha\e referred,

YounK l.iikf. I\y
iiiilfs north of
Tlluliiiiiiu' >lr:Hl-
o«s, ivilh twtt
Kill end id iiioiiii-
t :i i II II e i u !i lio r N :
nliovf. Haiilifd
IVak (l(l.s.".s fi.i;
below. .>lt. <"oii-
neKS (12,"il> ((.I.

and the only one now leading to the Yosemite High Sierra. It was not
constructed as a toll road, but merely to give access to certain mineral pros-
pects east of Tioga Pass. The mining operations failed, and the road
fell into disuse, though its owners, to preserve their title, dragged a wagon
over it once a year. Bought five or six years ago and given to the Govern-
ment by the public-spirited Director of the National Parks, Mr. Stephen T.
Mather, it has since received such partial repairs as the inadequate Park
appropriations made possible, and been used by a tide of motor travel
w^hich bears convincing testimony to the need of modern roads from "^ o-
semite Valley to the upper country. If the Congressmen responsible could

THE VOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK.

hut once be driven in automobiles over this antiquated road, on its tedious
way to the High Sierra, there might be a prompt ending of the neglect which
has so long left the Valley lacicing proper connection with its hinterland.

For the Tioga Road never ap-
proaches the Valley, and affords
but a difficult and makeshift out-
let to the increasing crowds there.
Our maps show it crossing the
entire central zone of the Park.
But it holds throughout to the
highland parting the Merced and
Tuolumne Rivers. Passing Alt.
Hoffman at Snow Flat, north of
Yosemite, it drops to Tenaya
Lake, thence following the cai"ion
seen on page 16 to Tuolumne
Meadows, the chief camping and.
mountaineering base on the upper
Tuolumne. Climbing then to the
Park's east boundary at Tioga

.eavins' Yosemite
\ationnl I":irk via
T i o ;i II Pass a ii ft
the l,ee>iiiiii«:
f'anoii Itoad. The
lower ^ lew looks
l>nek thri»iiK'h the
Park Kates, at the
s Ilium it of the
Pass l!).!UI ft.),
to 11 ts. Dana and
Gililis and Ktina
Crest. Above is
-seen the State
ronil. IiliiiK' on the
eiinoii >vall.

Pass, it joins the notable highway which California has built down Leevin-
ing Creek Canon to Mono Lake and north to Lake Tahoe. At Tenaya
Lake the road has. by Snow Creek Trail, its closest practicable contact with
Yosemite. But while Tenaya, with its convenient lodge and its loud call
to campers, is only eight miles by air-line and fourteen by trail northeast
of Yosemite Village, automobiles bound for it must leave the Valley on
the Big Oak Flat Road, climbing westward up the great north wall, then
travel outside the Park to a junction with the Tioga Road, and there turn

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

east to the lake, — a journey of sixty-one miles over roads never meant for
a gasoline car. Yet such is the pressure for the High Sierra and the fasci-
nation of the Yosemite-Tahoe trip that several thousand private automo-
biles travel this route from the Valley each summer.

The new road most needed in the Park, therefore, is by common con-
sent a well-graded modern highway which will avoid this long detour, and
connect directly with the Tioga Road at Tenaya Lake. Such a road, by
enabling automobilists quickh' to reach Tuolumne Meadows, will double

Sunset on ^loiiii

Lake. Viewr from Pniiha Island, with the Sierra Nevada in (he diNtanee.
Mt. Dana n:!,0.'0 ft.) accentN the sliy-line on left.

the possibilities of pleasure in every visit to Yosemite. This requirement
forms the most important item in the road-building plans formulated by
Superintendent W. B. Lewis, for which every lover of the Yosemite Sierra
will wish the Park Administration success in its effort to get a prompt and
adequate Congressional appropriation. The route proposed necessarily
offers many engineering problems; nevertheless the sum required is mod-
erate. And it is agreed that this is the most feasible and least costly route
on which a road can be carried quickly from the Valley floor to the upper
country. The road will leave the Valley at Happy Isles, following up the
Merced Canon past Vernal and Nevada Falls, skirt the foot of Clouds
Rest, cross boulder-strewn Forsyth Pass, at an elevation of about 9,000
feet, and zigzag swiftly down to Tenaya Lake. Its total of approximately
twenty miles will cut forty-one miles from the present roundabout journey
to that lake via Crane Flat, and so will absorb practically all travel from

u ,

- a

s
5J

3 5

s s

T S

— a

^ —
n e

= 2
2 =

a , a

= |H

III

1 s 0

= ■: •

res
s

vosr.Miri. AM) US hkjii sikkra

^ osemite to the I uoluinnc and lioga Pass. Such a roail, besides greatly
shortening the trip to Soda Springs, and drawing thousands to the delight-
ful country north and east of Tenaya Lake, will also stimulate travel to the
upper Merced, by carrying visitors to the top of Nevada Falls for the start
on their foot or horseback journey to Lake Merced, Lake Washburn, and
the head\\ater peaks.

The most eftectixe step yet taken to make the National Parks of prac-
tical use to the people was the admission of private automobiles. The

result, in the Yo-
semite Park, is
indicated by the
two totals, 15,145
\, ^M . ■mil li «:^^ m^K^KiL and 68,906, one

representing the
visitors in 1914,
the other those of
1920. Regarding
the second total,
the most signiti-

I'lKiii.siiiiil isliiiiil Lake
one of the iiiiiMt
in lercsf iii;^ alpine
laiieN ill the ) u-
Keinite r«>;i'ii»n. The
iiiwer pictllri'. I'r4,nt
(he fiMit III' llan-
ner i*eak iiiokin;^
n4ii' t liwa r<i. iiii;^lii
be niiNlakeii I'or our
«»f the Seoteh ili^Ii-
iaiKl lofllN; hut the
re\erse \ !*•»% Ii:is an
iiitnii.st:ik;ihie no),'
of the IliKh Sierra
s^'enery in its most
4*liar:ieter ist ie and
inspiriHK- form.

cant facts are that 46,074 of these people entered the Park in their own
cars, 13,418 in number; and that morert|ian 25,000 of them camped in the
public camping grounds on the floor o.F' the Valley. These figures prove
that the people of California, in their need of escape from the hot low-
lands, are themselves making the opening of the Yosemite High Sierra
imperative. Unless this is promptly and intelligently pushed, the conges-
tion in the Valley will shortly render conditions there fatal in large measure
to its beauty, and intolerable to the public.

Congressional appropriations have built more than three hundred
miles of good roads in Yellowstone National Park, and similar justice to
the needs of Yosemite Park will give. Superintendent Lewis the compara-

YOSEMITE AND IIS HIGH SIERRA

tively modest sum
of $3, 290,000 which
he is now asking
Congress to appro-
priate for road con-
struction and recon-
struction, to cover
a period of five
years. Congression-
al grants to this
Park have hitherto
been devoted for
the most part to
"maintenance," and
merely served to
keep up the old
roads taken over by
the Cio\ernment. Of
such roads there are
138 miles within the
Park limits, and for
the betterment of
these, including the
much-needed paving
of the roads on the
Hoor of Yosemite
Valley and to El
Portal, Mr. Lewis
asks $1,280,000 of
his itemized total.
The newly located
road across Forsyth
Pass will call for
$1,500,000. This
might seem a scant
estimate to those ac-
quainted with the
cost of other moun-
tain roads, but knowing the work already accomplished with small sums by
this efficient engineer, we may be confident Mr. Lewis will give the Park
an adequate highway on the amount named. But he first must get the
money; and Congress is most unlikely to vote it until California's Senators
and Representatives at Washington can forget politics long enough to insist
on the proper development of the greatest national asset within their State
for the health and pleasure of the American people.

The I>e\'llN l*osl|iilt*, a strikinf:: outcrop of ooliiiiinnr hnsalt. on
Ihe licaclwaterj* «if the ^lidille Fork of San .lonquiii Itiver,
fifteen inile.s east «if AoNeniite National Park. I.ava. in rool-
inK. often l>re:ik.s in .siieli iiillar.s, <-(»iiiiii,»iiIy liexaK(>nai in
eroNM-Neetion, anil s<iiiietiineN, as here, *tt 4-onMiileral>le hei;::ht.
The nio.st fninoiiN of siieh iilienoiiien:i is tlie <ii:ints t'ause-
VfSky, on the north eoa.st of Ireland. The Perils I'ostpile is
In the region, onee ^vitliin the ) oseniite I'ark iMtiindjiries.
>vhieli <',»n«ress is askeil to restore to the I'ark.

Imke Tahoe. ThiN famous lake, riiiiined by the nnon y ranges of the luirtlieni Sierr:i, HeN a
hundred nifleN north of the Yoseinite National Park, from nhioh it is reached both by rail
and automobile roads. It has an elevation of (t.l!l!r> feet, and an area of -04 square miles.
The re-opening: of the Tiog:a Roail eonneots Tahoe and Vosemlte more directly than ever
before, making; the ^ osemlte-Tnhoe trip one of the finest possibilities of a visit to either
of these s:rent scenic resorts.

0\ «Tli:tiiKiiiu Kock lit <ila«'UT I'oiiit. llii' iii4»n( fntiioii.s niul iiii|i(»rtant \ iow poinl on tin' i Ini of \ u-
Neiiiitr \ nlU-.v. From It (lit' N|t«'4'tator ItuikN diiwii :t.:t.*t7 feet tit the >lert'efl, ivIiiilitiK anions for-
e*<'N iiihI ■n4-ailoY\s. it ml imtomn (41 I lie heaiitifiil 1 oNeiiiile Fall. drupiklnK nearly half a lulle out
of ItN own hanKinK* valley.

Meroecl Iliver niiil the Forest in Vosemite. H;ilf Dome is seen in the distanee (center),
with the lloynl Arehes on the left :in«l the vast projeetinji,- pro^v of (ilaeier l*olnt on
the right.

II.

THE CANON OF YOSEMITE.

The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep;
No more shall grief of mine the season wrong;
I hear the echoes through the mountains throng,
The winds come to me from the fields of sleep.

— If-'illiam ff'orJs<i!;oit/i.

"Of the grandest sights I have enjoyed, — Rome from the dome of St.
Peter's, the Alps from Lake Como, Mont Blanc and its glaciers from
Chamouni, Niagara, and Yosemite, — I judge the last named the most
unique and stupendous." — Horace Greeley.

"The only spot I have ever found that came up to the brag."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

|ARLY visitors to Yosemite paid well for its pleasures. To reach
the Valley by any of the old routes, before the day of automo-
biles, or even of railway trains to the border of the Park, meant
a hot and dusty ride of two or three days, in a primitive vehicle,
over the roughest of mountain roads In common with thousands of
others, I painfully recall my first trip. We quit the train from San Pran-
cisco at Raymond, to endure a day of misery in a crowded "stage," which
jolted us up from the low country into the noble valley of the South Pork
at Wawona. That hot and dusty ride made the friendly little inn there,
when we finally reached it, seem as luxurious as a metropolitan hotel. The
next day was spent among the Mariposa Big Trees. The third carried
us across the broad Wawona ridge to Inspiration Point and the hard-won
vision of Yosemite itself. We were bruised and happy.

Many visitors still come and go by the Wawona route, motoring
in their own cars from all parts of California, or leaving or returning to

YOSEMITE AND US HIGH Sn:RRA

the railway at Merced by the com-
fortable "auto-stages." Automo-
biles, good roads, and improved ho-
tel service have robbed the trip of
its terrors. The traveler is able to
enjoy fully the increasing interest
of a wonderful ride, as his motor
climbs swiftly back among the
.!;reat, forested hills of Wawona.
It is a country which, e\en without
\'osemite or the Mariposa Grove,
might well draw him to its own
splendid outlooks, deep valleys, and
tine waterfalls and lakes, — a sports-
man's paradise that should have its
place in any extended Yosemite out-
ing.

The Wawona route, like the
Big Oak Flat road north of the
Merced, is recommended by the
fact that it gi\es the incoming vis-
itor his introduction to Yosemite
\'alley from the heights. Few
things in this world can exceed the
surprise and pleasure of that view.
Nearing the rim of the plateau, the road suddenly leaves the forest for a
turn far out on a rocky promontory. More than a thousand feet below,
the river lies, a white thread, at the bottom of its gorge. The foreground
is wild and unformed, — an abyss fringed by projecting crags and pinnacles,
and barren save for a few rugged and adventurous pines clutching the
ledges. But eastward opens the famous Valley, always, when seen from
the heights, more im-
pressive than imagi-
nation has conceived
it. Its nearest cliffs
tower almost as far
above as the river lies
below, while, miles
beyond, the great pic-
ture closes with domes
and peaks lightly sil-
houetted against the
softest blues and
whites of the cloud-
necked Sierran sky. ••»«• Englnnd llrlilB*-," m U .•nvonn. l.uiH by Onlen Clark. ISTO.

< hiliiuatiia l-'alls, iii-.-ir Watiiiiia; 4»ne of the
most beautiful series of oataraets anil ras-
eades in the l*ark.

THE CANON OF YOSEMITE

llridal Aeil >leiiiU>t\. on the route 4tf tlic ;iii«'ieiit l*(>li«>iii» 4wl:icier. :iiiil iio%t reni'heil by
I'ohoiio Trail. Such sunny glacial fl:it.s, lnrf::e and .small, tellin;^ of old lakes lon^r
since transformed by stream-n':isli. are come upon everyivhere bel€>«- timber line, on
forest trails or anions the upland granite domes. Homes of floM-ers and deer, musical
with the song; of birds, they are anions' the delifAlitfiil surprises of the Park,

It is a picture one can not afford to miss, and if he comes to Yosemite
by rail, as many do, he will lose much of its beauty if he fails to see the
Valley from Wawona Road. I do not wonder that every artist wants to
paint his interpretation of Yosemite's message from the sublime outlooks
on or near this road, as it rises out of the caiion; or that the scene inspires
such admirable paintings as Hill, Moran, Jorgensen, and others have made
here. But all nature-lovers will indorse Mr. Chase's protest against the
cheap, bromidic names given these view-points. It does not add to the
inspiration of the scene to be told, "This is Inspiration Point!" There is
both good humor and good sense in what Chase says:

Inspiration, in any case, is a timid bird, which appears without advertisement, delights
not in sign-boards, and the louder it is whistled for is the more apt to refuse to come. I have
heard the spot spoken of by warm and jocular young gentlemen as Perspiration Point; and
although that species of witticism is, generally speaking, distasteful to me, I find that I suffer
no pang when it is practiced at the expense of this piece of pedantry. — Yosemite Trails, p. 2S.

Since the Park was opened, in 1915, to private automobiles, an in-
creasing tide of visitors each year reaches Yosemite Valley over the old toll
roads, now maintained and improved by the Park Administration. This
motor-car travel is pretty fairly divided between the north- and south-side
routes. Great numbers enter by Wawona and Chinquapin, and descend
from the South rim to the Valley floor just west of Bridal Veil Fall. Cars
coming over the Big Oak Flat Road, through Groveland and the Bret

YOSKMITE AND ITS HIGH SIKKKA

Harte Country, rich in memories of the "Days of "49," drop rapidly down
from the Tuolumne Big Tree (jrove, via the spectacular viewpoints of the
sheer north wall, to the site of the former El Capitan bridge, opposite
Cathedral Rocks. Smaller numbers come by Coulterville, that road reach-
ing the Merced level a little west of Cascade Palls, and four miles west of
El Capitan. All of these high-level roads will lose much of their incoming
patronage when the State of California finishes its new highway from the

The ller<'**»l Ui\iT. Ilir**** milt's iilMivt* h'A l*or(:il. 'I'll*' Kliarp \ -Mliiipf of Ih*' Kiirst' iiiili-
ontes that it was mainly cut l»y stream erosi»ni. rather tiian by the ulat-ier which
earveil the I -sh.-i|)e<l eaiion uf \iiNeniife above. Ahiii)^ tliis wild troliu'h. tilleil with
hoiihlers from the 4'lill's. an excellent alltonioliile roiul has Ix'en hllilf at K'reat c«>st.

town of Mariposa to El Portal, though the Wawona route will no doubt
gain in its actual total because of increased travel from the Valley to the
Big Trees. The completion and surfacing of the Mariposa-El Portal
Road, as has already been said, will give motorists a low-level boulevard,
open all the year, from the San Joaquin countrv directly on to the floor of
the Valley, and without question will quickly multiply present travel totals.
A multitude of Yosemite visitors use the quicker service of the rail-
way, in preference to automobiles on the present steep mountain roads.
This number includes, too, the Eastern tourists who have not brought their

THE CANON OF YOSEMITE

motors to California. Leav-
ing the Santa Ve or South-
ern Pacific system at the
pleasant little city of Mer-
ced, through "sleepers" car-
ry them over the Yosemite
Valley Railroad to El Por-
tal, its terminus, just outside
the Parli boundary. This
road is a noteworthy piece
of railway building. A few
miles above Merced, it en-
ters the gorge of the Mer-
ced River, which it follows
for the rest of its seventy-
eight miles, as the canon
sinks deeper into the range.
F'or most of this length, it
was blasted out of the solid
granite, or cleated upon
wall of the gorge. Below
it, the Merced winds and
plunges in a narrow, tortu-
ous bed, which is dammed
here and there to suppK
power for quartz and lum-
ber mills. Gold mining has
been in progress here for
seventy years, the old placer
workings, of which the
river-channel still shows
many scars, having long
since given place to under-
ground mines.

P>om El Portal, auto-
mobile stages run not only
to Yosemite, but also to

,1 TV * J J HP 1 t'aseacle FnllN, f<)Ur iiiile.s «e.st of I'M C'aiiitan.

the Merced and 1 uolumne

Groves of Big Trees. These small areas contain some fine trees, and the
journey to them is one of great interest. Even if there were no Giant
Sequoias in prospect, the ride would be worth while. The road, as it
climbs the hills, unfolds magnificent views of Yosemite and the lower Mer-
ced Valley. The forests of pine, fir and cedar through which it passes
are among the most interesting in the State.

A ride of twelve miles from El Portal, over a remarkable automobile

YOSEMITE AND ITS Ilk. II SIKKKA

road of easy grades, brings the \ is-
itor to Yosemite. This highway
upthewild Merced canon, although
it lies almost wholly within the
Park, was originally built by the
new Yosemite Yalley Railroad in
1907, in order to get its passengers
from the terminus at El Portal to
their destination, Yosemite Village,
at the center of Yosemite Valley.
It has now been turned over to the
Park Administration, a gift to the
Government, which should itself
have built a road so necessary for
public con\enience. For the heavy
travel has now compelled Congress
to widen and regrade it, at a cost
of $325,000. The work has been
admirably done under direction of
the Superintendent of the Park,
Mr. W. B. Lewis; but to preserve
it from destruction under the in-
creasing traffic, a further appropri-
ation is urgently needed for surfac-
ing it. The road is one of the most
celebrated mountain highways in America. It deserves its fame. From
El Portal almost to the gates of the Valley, it had to be cut out of the
granite hillsides. All about it is a scene of colossal disorder, the work
of avalanche and earthquake, filling the canon with mighty boulders from
the cliffs above, over which the swift river foams in continuous cascades.
One great waterfall is passed be-
fore we reach Yosemite, though
among the multitude of cataracts
hereabout it is so inconspicuous
that the automobile driver may
rush by it without calling his passen-
gers' attention to its beauty. This
is Cascade Falls, seen on the left,
where Cascade Creek pours from
the north wall of the caiion, live
hundred feet, in a deep recess close
to the road. So fine a sight should
not be overlooked. It prepares one
for the still ampler magnificence of wimc-r sii.iris in voseniite. "Skiing immi

, , r> • 1 1 T r ■IT-' 11 I 1 Mio«-sliot'iiij; draw iii;inj- iiiirties to tliv

the ramous ondal Veil rail ahead. vnii.-j ca<-h winter.

Bridiil \ ei

Fall, seen in early Winter friun
the jfouth-side rond.

Bridal VeU Fall, the Indinn Pohono. Dropping 620 fee*. «i<li 200 feet of easondes below it. tUis
fall is noteivortiij- in its setting, and perhaps the most craoeful in form of nil the Yosemitc
eataraefs. \o;e llie "eoiiiefs" — arrow-like masses of water shooting i*nt from the fall.

YOSEMITE AM) ITS II Kill SIERRA

<'iif lic(lr:it SpirvN, iiinsMive ;A'raii-
i(«' iiiniiiit'lf.s ejlKt of C:lthe-

Soon, quitting the narrow cluttered wild-
ness of the lower river, the newcomer is face
to face with the ordered peace and glory
of Yosemite itself. (jratefuUy, silently, he
breathes the \ery magic of the Knchanted Val-
ley. For here, fully spread before him, is that
combination of sylvan charm with stupendous
natural phenomena which makes Yosemite
unique among earth's great pictures. He sees
the caiion's level floor, telling of an ancient
glacial lake that has given place to wide, grassy
meadows; fields of glad mountain flowers;
forests of many greens and lavenders; the
fascination of the winding Merced. River of
.Mercy; and, gleaming high above this world
of gentle loveliness, the amazing gray face
of El Capitan, while Pohono drops from a
"hanging valley" superbly sculptured, and so
lieautiful that he may well deem it the noblest
setting Nature has given to any of her famous
waterfalls. No human architect of landscape
could have devised so perfect a composition.

Here, too, at the very
gates of the Valley, we
find an invaluable key to
the problem of its ori-
gin. As we followed up

the Merced, we have thus far seen it everywhere a
turbulent canon stream. But at the base of Cathedral
Rocks its character changes. For seven miles above
that point, it is the most peaceful of meadow-bor-
dered rivers, with only a few feet of fall as it mean-
ders indolently down the level valley floor from
Happy Isles. A little easy investigation, for want
of which, however, some eminent scientists have gone
far astray, explains the extraordinary change.

At the place just mentioned, where I'.l Capitan
bridge once stood, and where its piers may yet be
seen, a broad ridge of glacial debris, now covered
with young forest, and notched by the ri\er channel,
stretches from the talus slope below Cathedral Rocks'
a quarter of ai mile across to the rock slide, or earth-
quake talus, west of El Capitan. It is largely buried
in silt and river gravel, but about twenty feet of its
height is visible on the upper side, and twice as much

I.eopnrfl l.ily ) I., jinr-
llnlinlliiiK a K'uru'eoiiN
ornnfi^e - nnfl - iiilrple
iiit'iiiber of the l.ily
fniiiily, whieh fr**-
f| u e n t s the I <» \t e r
valleys of the Park,

e
0.

a
z

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

I» ,. ■ 'r>vf

W»^r!l^

-^dtim

VA Cjipitnii niul Three IJrolliers. seen from the iiH»r:iiiie sit the f»K>t of Cathedral H«>ekN.
Tourists of the elass that tiliils its ehirf olit-door interest in diseoverini; zooloKieai
reseiulil;iMees in natural ohjeets ha\e dllhhed h'A t'apitan "the Crouehinff I. ion of
\ oseinite." This is a inlsnonier. as the siileiidid hiifj^e riiek is obviously- an elephant!

below. So solid and level an embankment of soil and boulders, some of
which have been freighted down from the sea-beach strata back, on the
highest peaks, and are of rock wholly different from the unbroken areas
of granite now embracing the entire Merced caiion, is unmistakably a
glacier's record. Had Prof. J. D. Whitney noted it when, as State geol-
ogist, he conducted his famous Yosemite survey, fifty years ago, he would

not have made the
blunder of his life
by denying that the
Valley was due to
glacial action, or
said: "There are be-
low the Valley no
remains of the mo-
raines which such an
operation could not
fail to have formed."
For in fact this
compact earthwork

.. is simply a terminal

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ moraine, deposited

A fJlinilise of >orth Dome, from one of the healltifnl forest i ..I- ^ ^^

roads in Vosemite Valley. by the great 1 OSCUl-

THE CANON OF YOSEMITE

ite Glacier at the point
where the last of its
several advances
stopped, and from
which its final slow
retreat began.

The line of the mo-
raine, later geologists
tell us, practically co-
incides with, and cov-
ers, a granite bar, or
sill, which reached
from El Capitan to
Cathedral Rocks, and
formed the dam of
the ancient Yosemite
Lake. This body of
water had the same
history as hundreds
of other caiion lakes
still to be found in the
High Sierra, occupy-
ing the depressed
treads of the huge
glacial stairways.
Deep basins were
quarried by the gla-
ciers wherever inflow-
ing branch glaciers
greatly augmented
their mass and weight, with a corresponding temporary increase in digging
power. Glaciers alone produce these rock-basins. Lakes such as Merced
and Washburn, above Yosemite, and filled lake-beds such as Yosemite and
Hetch Hetchy Valleys, are found only in the tracks of the vanished ice-
streams. River erosion never cuts such hollowed steps in water-channels.
It required the long scouring of incalculable moving ice-masses, armed with
vast rocks plucked from their beds, to prepare the caiions for the low-set
lakes, and for the level valleys of the later time.

Thus the sudden change in the Merced River, from a quiet meadow
stream to a brawling mountain torrent, recalls vividly to the modern stu-
dent that distant day when the receding glacier left behind it a beautiful
lake, seven miles in length and probably four or five hundred feet deep,
walled by perpendicular cliffs rising more than three thousand feet, and
dammed by a rocky moraine overlying a granite dike. Where the lake
ended, the Merced cut an outlet for itself through the moraine. This low

The "Baok Road," on the south siile 4,f \ ojseiiiite. The tree.s
.shown are rhiefly California iilaek Oaks (tluerous kelloegiil,
a deciduows speoie.s that does inueh to beautify the Valley
floor. Its acorns supply lirend to the Indians, and are prized
by squirrels and ^Toodpeekers.

vosr.MriE AM) US iikjii siekka

Aertiiiliilie \ i«**v of ^Osciiiite l-'alls. Tlif upper cillnraot. tinned liy John .>lllir "the iu»lilest
diMpf:i> <»f fallhi^A wiiltT in the \"alle>. or perh:tps in tlie \\<»rl(i," li:in;£s in a *vi«ie re«'ess
^vhieh the old \ (»seinite (ilaeier dii^ iiearl> half a mile haek into the north «\all. 'I'lie
reetanKular jointing in the granite el«*arlj seen here enahletl the Kla*'ier to unilenniue
jind overthrow hu^e hloeks of the roek. Itiit east of the falls tlie j(»int-|»lanes cease*
leavinflT the soliil pr<»jeetiii;^ iiiass <»f "\oseiiiite Point." though \ery liniitefl U»eal tisslir-
inK' Itloeked out the spire kn<»\vn as Lost Vrrow. seen 4M1 tlie riulit. Vt the elose «>f the
iclaeial pei iod. the shallows of the €*lilY west 4»f this deep i*oAe loot; kept alive a small
r«>sidunl Klai'ier, wllieh pushed its iee easeailes down the little canon on the left, where
now a hf»rse-traU zig;xagK to the tt»p (»f the fall.

pass is also used by the south-side road, where it skirts the river to-day.
The lake itself, probably within the last two or three hundred years, if we
may judge by the trees growing where once was only water, has filled up
with rich alluvial soil, brought down mainly by spring freshets from near-by
heights, rather than by the larger river. To this source we owe the fertile
valley Hoor. with an inestimable part of the beauty of Yosemite.

That the extraordinary depth and form of Yosemite Valley, as well
as of Hetch Hetchy and a few other moat-like mountain vales presenting
the Yosemite type, and therefore generically called "yosemites," are mainly
due to glacier-plowing and lateral glacier-plucking, which deepened and
widened river gorges originally cut by water erosion and existing long
before the glacial epoch or epochs, is a conclusion now so strongly fortified
by observed facts that few geologists any longer dispute it. If they dilfer
at all, it is as to the extent of such action, and the preparation by which
other geological factors, chieHy arising from localized peculiarities of rock-
structure in the Sierran granites, may have facilitated it. Thus some
scientists believe that the main Yosemite Glacier reached little below El
Capitan; others find evidence that convinces them it found its way to the
foothills. Government experts and others ha\e for years been making a
minute examination of the region, and gathering data which should solve
the deepest mysteries of its history. But the main proposition of pre-
dominant glacial influence can hardly be deemed as any longer at issue.

THE CANON OF YOSEMITE

Such agreement, however, is of com-
paratively recent date. It was Clarence
King who first ascribed the great caiion to
the glaciers. John Muir, after establish-
ing by his exploration of the Illiloiiette
head-basins the important but long-dis-
puted fact that true glaciers still exist in
the Sierra, though fast dwindling in extent
and power, read from the record broadly
carved upon the upland abundant proofs,
as he contended, that all its caiions, with
most of the other outstanding features of
the range, were the work of ancient ice-
streams Prior to these pioneer "glacier-
ologists" some fantastic theories were held.
One attributed the Valley to an explosion
of superheated granite domes, and the
elaboration by river erosion of the gash
thus created. Another explained it as a
rent caused by seismic violence, which later
was partly filled up with rock debris and
stream wash. But the most interesting of
these guesses, and one that for years found
wide acceptance because of the eminence
of its author and the violence with which
he denounced the glacial hypothesis, was the "fault-block" contention of
Prof. Whitney. Said that once famous geologist:

A more absurd theory was never advanced than that by which it was sought to ascribe to
glaciers the sawing out of these vertical walls and the rounding of the domes. Nothing more
unlike the real work of ice, as exhibited in the .Mps, cnnid be found. Besides, there is no reason

to suppose, or at least no proof,
that glaciers have ever occupied the
Valley, or any portion of it, so that
this theory, based on entire igno-
rance of the whole subject, may be
dropped without wasting any more
time on it. . . . We conceive that,
during the upheaval of the Sierra,
or, possibly, at some time after that
had taken place, there was at the
Yosemite a subsidence of a limited
area, marked by lines of "fault" or
fissures crossing each other some-
what nearly at right angles. In
other and more simple language,
the bottom of the Valley sank down
to an unknown depth, owing to its
support being withdrawn from un-
derneath.— The Y osemite Guide
I.UNt Arro«" Triiil, e:ij,t siile i>l' \ 4>.seiiiit4^ i re**k. Book, pp. 7i, 74.

('lilt' ut Head uf 1 o.semitv Falls,
showing the vertieal cleavage
joints iThich have cuiileil the gla-
eial sculpturing anil made possible
the sheer walls of Voseinite. Heteh
Hetohy and similar eauons.

YOSEMITE AND ITS HICII SIERRA

r|»|i4T ^ oscmil*' l'':ill. sroii fr«Mn 1 o.s4'iilili* I'oill* Trail.
Ill Ks drop "( I.^.IO feet, the strrain, rvcn lit llooil,
lu-i'Diiii-K a flollil of s|>r:ij, «hi4-h the wliiil ontchrs
an on n ollMliioii, lllid sways from m|41«* to Niile.

1 I;ul Whitney's examina-
tion of the Valley been thor-
ough enough to take note of
the old moraine below I".l Cap-
itan, it is probable he «ould
not ha\e written those words.
And yet he had other evidence
that should have prevented his
error. F^l Capitan Moraine
and the old Yosemite Lake
which it helps us to reconstruct
are far from being the only re-
minders of the Valley's glacial
history. Most striking of all,
rhe hanging valleys on its walls
are no less clearly of glacial
origin, and tell us of an epoch
when ice was irresistibly mod-
eling the landmarks above, as
well as digging deeper the vast
canon below.

As we pass Bridal \'eil
Fall, we note that it drops, not
from a flat plateau abo\e, nor
from a narrow cleft in the
wall, but out of a high side-
\ alley, which in turn is framed
bv lofty cliffs. The U-shape
of this broad valley is so clear
that we at once perceive that
it, too, must have been scoured
out by a glacier, rather than
by Pohono Creek, which could
ha\e cut only a V-shaped
gorge. Its sculptor, in fact,
was a minor glacier, mighty
enough to dig a splendid wild
valley more than fifteen hun-
dred feet deep, but not power-
ful enough to sink it to the bed
of the main caiion. Hence, as
the larger glacier shrank in
bulk, and ceased to fill the
greater Valley, the Pohono
Glacier was left "hanging" on

VoMeiiiite Falls. Keen from trail throuf^h the pine and oak forest that skirts the north wall
of the A'alley. The ui>|ier fall, he^inninf!: '2,'iiT* feet above the Valley floor, dropx I,4:t0 feet;
the loiver fall. '.i'2it feet, nith several siiinller falN between. A'osemite Point. -,!Ktri feet, is on
the right, and the tall granite .spire in front of it is the **Lost Arron** of Indian legend.

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SH:RRA

Miilflle YuNeiiiite Fall. -Not easily rfarheil
and seldom visited, this is the InrK'est
of several oataraefs in the deep hox
eaiion liet«'een I'pper and I-o«er "^ o-
seniite Falls, and has nn estimated

drop of more than 100 feet
vie^v on pn^e S.t it is
above the lower fall.

tlic siiic, to drop its ice and rocic in a\"a-
lanchcs upon the trunk, glacier below,
linally, both glaciers vanished, with
increasing mean temperature and de-
creasing snowlall. Of their canons one
was occupied by the typical glacier-
made lake of Yosemite, four thousand
feet above the sea; while the other, for
want of icebergs to drop into the lake,
just as plainly declared its origin by
Hinging out a glacial banner, the most
graceful, though far from the largest,
of the Yosemite waterfalls.

Other famous cataracts hung high
on the Valley walls repeat the story of
Bridal Veil. Yosemite Falls, at the
center of the north wall, and Illilouette,
on the south wall at the head of the
N'alley, are the most important in vol-
ume and length of season, telling by
their well-defined hanging valleys and
tan-like amphitheaters, set deep in the
highlands, that they, too, are glacier-
born. No more enjoyable occupation
can be found for part of a Yosemite
\acation than to trace the old glaciers
to their sources in the Hoffman and

view on page S.t it is seen immediately McrCcd SpUrS of thc maiH Sicrra.

If one follows up Yosemite Creek,
above its falls, and beyond the old Tioga Road, he discovers a fine cluster
of glacial cirques, stretching around from the north side of Mt. Hoffman,
along the southern slope of the Merced-Tuolumne divide, and forming a
mountain-walled basin, al-
most circular, and five or six
miles in diameter. In out-
line it is like the spreading
crown of one of the caiion
live-oaks that cover the
earthquake talus at the foot
of the Yosemite wall, and
beautify the adjacent upland
roads and trails. This char-
acteristic abandoned home
of a minor glacier no longer
holtis its permanent neve.

Summit 4»f m, Starr Kin^, showinj; the exf(»lintion of
the eoiieeiif ric layers of granite by weathering.

YOSEMITE AXn ITS HIGH SIERRA

It is to-day merely a temporary res-
ervoir, sometimes emptied long be-
fore the autumn ruins begin. There
the winter snows are held until it
pleases their parent, the Sun, to
transform them into summer floods,
and send them, singing, down the
valley to join the Yosemite chorus.
Yosemite Creek now flows to its
fall amidst a wild panorama of
gray, barren domes and fir-covered
moraines. But here for centuries
a shallow glacier, fifteen miles in
length and se\eral miles wide, crept
slowly from the Mt. Hoffman
Range to meet the great ice-stream
of the Merced; and when the trunk
glacier sank low in its caiion, the
north-sitle feeder dug back its sec-
tion of the wall until it had quar-
ried a deep branch canon, in which
Yosemite Upper Fall now thunders
its own chapter of the glacial story,
king of all the world's waterfalls in

l.oiver Yoseiiiitt' Kjill; droi* :tl!(l feet. i ■ i . i ^ ^ i'

height anti statelmcss.

How easily the Yosemite cliffs were undercut and torn away by the
blows of avalanches from the glacier above may be guessed from the pic-
tures on pp. 80, 81, showing the wall so deeply fissured by vertical and inter-
secting cleavage planes that it is merely a standing pile of huge rectangular
granite blocks, ready to be tumbled over by anv power that can.

Ihe Illilouette watershed is larger than that of Yosemite Creek, and
even more interesting, as rimmed by higher mountains. From the "Long
Trail" approaching Glacier Point, as well as from the hotel there and the
ridge sou:h of it, we get many fine views of the deep lower valley of the
Illilouette, encircling Mt. Starr King, and inviting us back to its fountain
basins sunk in the west flank of the Merced Range. There Mt. Clark,
and (iray, Red and Merced Peaks, accent as noble a ring of cirques as we
shall find below the very crest of the Sierra. This watershed, once occu-
pied by a broad river of ice, is now a land of sunshine, — of flower-meadows,
shining domes, and densely forested converging moraines, the whole walled
by snowy mountains that rise to elevations of eleven thousand feet. Some
idea of it may be had from the illustration on page 22. But its wonder
and beauty are beyond the power of photography. The best general view
is to be had from Mt. Clark, or the east slope of Mt. Starr King, whence
one carries away a lasting picture of what a glacier can do in its vocation

Illilouette Fall, viewed from its <>auon lu-litw. iliis line «n(»'rfaU
It is a haril oliinh up Illilouette fniion from the Mereecl Hiver
wliieli may l»e .seen more easily from above, on the l.on;^' Trail

has a ilrop of :t70 feet,
to the foot of the full,
to (ilaoier l*oint.

yOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

as a landscape engineer.
Differing from these
three important cataracts in
their manner of birth, but
none the less proclaiming a
glacial origin, Vernal and
Nevada Falls, at the head
of the Valley, are the larg-
est in volume of all the Yo-
semite group. Instead of
falling from their own hang-
ing valleys, backed by inde-
pendent basins, they are
part of the Merced itself,
and drop from giant steps
in the river's glacial stair-
way. These steps, like the

Ifc <'oiie at tin- l-<><it <>r I piior Vo-
Ncinitr I'all. Tliis volcano-like
hill rises eaeli m inter to :i height
of four or live hundred feet,
formed l>y (he freexinK spriij and
l>J llloeks of iee fallen fr<ini the
faee of the elilV. The mouth of
the eone is about 2(10 feet in
diameter, says Muir, who looked
down into it from the lefl;;e seen
on the riuht in the upper pie-
tiire. The t*\o sm:ill speeks on
the side of the eone in the lon-er
vieiv are the late Calen (lark
and n eompanion, Hho ellmhed
it to Ket a look into the •■ernter."

outstanding sheer cliffs of
Yosemite. owe their remark-
able height and perpendicu-
lar faces to the alternation
of practically solid granite
ridges, lying across the path

C'nuon View ttt \ernal Fall. This is probably the most p(»|>ular of the Park's jr^reat water-
fallN. Seen from this point, the famous cataract is framed hetiveen the sheer wnllH of
a deep box canon, ^vhile, beyond, the unique domes of Liberty Cap (right) and Mt. Brod-
eriok (leftK -supply a fittinix' background to s» imposing a spectacle. ThcNc heights, though
a mile n%vay. above Nevada Fall, here seem to stand guard immediately over Vernal.

VOSI.MUK AM) US HKJH SIERRA

Kc Citntt' ^Iriiiiiri.-il, nt th«- f«M»t of 4ila<'ii*r Point; 4'r4-«'l«'(l tty thv
Si<Tr:i <'llih in lionor of (h«* late l*rof. .loNcpli l.c 4'4»iite, the
faiiiollK KcoIoKiNt anil author, <»f the I ni^erNify of California,
and maintained as the C"lul>N \n.seinite head(lliarter.s. Here
a lil»r:»r> of ollt-door literature is neee.ssihie t(» tlie pnhiii-.

of the ancient Mer-
ced Glacier, with areas
of looser rock, \erti-
cally jointed, and
therefore readily dis-
integrated by the ice.
Glacial canon steps
as high as these are
exceedingly rare.
Hence canon water-
falls of the height of
Vernal and Nevada
are elsewhere almost
unknown, \^•hile cliff
cataracts of even
greater fall, dropping
from hanging valleys
on the sides of trunk-
glacier caiions, are a
familiar feature of every important alpine district. But the two renowned
falls of the Merced stand quite alone among canon cataracts in their union
of large volume with great altitude, Vernal falling 317 feet, and Nevada
594 feet. Not only are they thus exceptional in magnitude, but the glacier
used the local rock formations to make them different. Each has its own
special character. Vernal meets all the requirements of an ideal cata-
ract.— a solid sheet of clear water bend-

ing easily from the brink of a broad,
level granite platform, and offering all
the colors of its own delightful rainbows,
as the flood changes swiftly from goklen
green at its brow to optional flashing
snows in the sunny cafion below. Nc-
\ada presents a striking contrast to such
conventional if surpassing beauty. Al-
ready churned to foam in a steep, crooked
trough, it is shot far out from its narrow
cleft, a passionate cloud, seemingly made
up of millions of distinct, pearl-like
drops; and midway in its descent it strikes
the sloping cliff, spreading into a wide
"apron" of still more dazzling white-
ness. So splendid are these singing, rain-
bow-building children of the glaciers.

The record of these falls is corrobo-
rated by the rock-basins which the gla-

M the Head
projeetiii^'

f Nevada I'all. Here a
ledp;e, ffiiariled liy nii
ir(»ii rail, enaliles visitors ti» stufly
llie tvild tlo4»d at elose ran^e as it
(lii\es 4Mlt frtini its steep troii^^ii.
Iireakin;^ int(» "eoniets" and hu;;'e
pearls of whitest spray.

Vernal Fall, from Clark's Point, on the horse trail. Drop. :U7 feet. Althou»?h the most oonven-
tional of the ;;reat falls in Yosemite, Vernal oilers a maKnilieent pieture. both in its setting anil
in its wealth of oolor. The golclen greens nntl hliies of the steadily falling stream, its shooting
"eomets," clouds of spray, and eireular rainbows, make it an ideal study, well worth many visits.

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

cier scouret] out on their
plateaus, just as it hollowed
the basin of Yoseniite Lake
itself. Emerald Pool, the
little tarn immediately
abo\e Vernal I'all, is hardly
a stone's throw across, but
unmistakable. River ero-
sion could ne\'er have fash-
ioned so perfect a bowl. A
mile higher up, beyond Ne-
vada Fall, the basin was
three miles long, holding a
lake that has now given
place to the charming vale
of Little Yosemite. Here
bare cliiis and domes frame
another level valley of
meadow, forest and lazy
river, all on about one-half
the scale of the greater Yo-
semite below. Other yo-

GlaritT P4nii1. jlittiiiK into 1 uNeiii-
ite Vnllt'y at its junction ^vitli
the 31 eri'cil- lllili»u«'tte faiittii.
Seen eitiier from tlie \'nllfy
floor or from the trail to X'ernal
Kail, this itia^i>iive elifl' in the
stateliest lieadlarul of the soutil
^vall. Its iiriM'ipitoiis fnees are
fine to >ertieal joint-planes.

Semites lie beyond, uiinl we
reach the splendid glacial
lakes, Merced and Wash-
burn, far up the caiion.
These, too, in time will fill
with detritus from the hills,
and become delightful xal-
leys of this type. Nature
abhors barren waters.

THE CANON OF YOSEMITE

Glacial history is also written
plain on the two "domes" that rise
just north of Nevada Fall, called
the Cap of Liberty and Mt. Brod-
erick. These are simply masses of
unfissured granite, too large and
solid for the glacier to plane away,
though it gouged out the vast beds
of jointed rock in which they lay;
and as it swept over them, it shaved
down their east slopes, so that one
may scale them with little difficulty,
and find glacial boulders on their
tops which tell by their rock char-
acter that they have traveled hither
from the snowy summits of the
range, a score of miles to the east.

Yosemite Valley offers many
other convincing particulars of the
life of its great Merced Glacier.
The beauty of its cliffs is no more ob-
vious than is their testimony regard-
ing their origin, outline and sculp-
turing. Their perpendicular fronts
and projecting angles, narrowing
the Valley

OverhiinpinR- Rock on the Halt Dome, nearly
a mile above the floor of \ osemite Valley.
Tenaya Canon is seen belov.

. T. BOYSEN

"«ateh lie!" Even the
1'osemite bears get
the eilinbinfr habit.

here, or over
towering its
deeper recess-
es there, tell unmistakably of the glacier's work as
a giant sapper and miner. But that work must not
be credited to the ice-stream alone. It was made
possible by the extreme mingling of zones of jointed
and unjointed granites. The sculpturing of these
walls was carried on first by the ice, and later by
all the agencies of weathering, — water, frost and
snow. Where the valley contracts, we find unfis-
sured masses that resisted the stresses of the cool-
ing earth, and in the glacial age were able equally
to withstand the action of ice. Here El Capitan
and Cathedral Rocks, rising opposite each other at
the Valley's narrowest part, were undivided blocks
too vast for the glacier to remove. So Yosemite
Point confronts Union Point, and the splendid prow
of Glacier Point the projecting pedestal of the Half

VOSKMUI, AXn IIS IIICII SIIKKA

Dome. In the areas ot abundantly tissureil rock separating each of these
pairs of opposing cliffs from the next, the glacier took advantage of the
vertical and horizontal jointing to undermine and cut back the Valley walls.
Their varying cleavage planes, with the occurrence of smaller unjointed
masses, were set out in an infinite variety of gables, pinnacles and spires.

Where the jointing was
P^S^^SH vertical, the ice left the
sheer faces of Glacier and
\ osemite Points and the
Sentinel. Where it in-
clined, the Three Broth-
ers, with their sloping
steps, resulted. Alterna-
tion of fissured and mass-
i\e granites gave us the
deeply trenched Cathedral
Rocks. Purely local solid-
ity surrounded by a fissile
structure is represented in
Cathedral Spires and the

— l^\o lM*:ililiflilly >vo<hU'iI
isl«-fN al (he ii|>|>t*r flid of
the Vallt'y. ^vhere the
river riishe** 4nit 4tf its
namt^v ennoii hel<»«' lllii-
ouette :iii<l \'eriial

Lost Arrow, as well as
in such clefts as the
Fissures and the gap
separating Washing-
ton Ccdumn from the Royal Arches. Much of this detailed sculpture, of
course, has been the result of weathering since the retreat of the glacier.
To that agency must also be ascribed the splitting off of flat plates from
the front of Half Dome, as well as the exfoliation of concentric layers
from the top of that and other domes. This, more than the glacial grind-
ing, is responsible for their rounded form.

THE CANON OF YOSEMITE

Any Yoseniite visitor
who would know the causes
of this great Valley will get
both instruction and enjoy-
ment by following the Mer-
ced River back to, or at
least towards, its fountains
in the wide amphitheater
enclosed between the main
range of Sierran peaks and
its outlier, the Mt. Clark or
Merced chain. Stretching
from Lyell and Florence on
the north clear around to
Red Peak and Triple Di-
vide Peak on the south,
every creek may be traced
up to a head-basin which an
ancient glacier dug far back
into the mountain mass.
When this sapping and mi-
ning went on long enough
to encounter a glacier simi-
larly at work on the other
side of the ridge, a pass
resulted; and over these
mountain passes one may
cross to-day, at elevations of nine or ten thousand feet, and drop down
into the watershed of the San Joaquin or the South Merced, and find there
the same types of alpine scenery, sculptured by the same irresistible if slow-
moving tools. But where the exca\'ation was not carried through the sum-
mit walls, we find merely the huge cirques, driven well into the sides of the

"I'atarnot of niaiiKiiifls/' lii't«*'eu ^"ernal and
\evada Falls.

kittle Vo.seiiiite, n-ith its bare ;:;riinite sliipps, seen from summit of Liberty Cui», ^vilh Half
Dome on the left. Here, too. a JelVrey I'ine, more symnietrieal than that on Sentinel
Dome, has e.stablished itself. Mt. t'lark is in distance (left K

>eva«ln l'':ill (.'»!! I ft.i. nccii from the /.i^/.a;^ 'I'rnil :il ils Nidi*. Sfranut' anil faN«>iiiatinp: ^vnlcr
forms art' often as^niiM'tl liy this \%ilil tlooil. and when tlie riter is at its lici^;lit in enrly
sunimt>r ii ivo man's fa<'i* uiid liKiir** are plainly seen, — a * eritahle "I.ady of the Sno«H.**

Nevada Fall, seen from the north «all of the enuon helow. In ilisplay of power, as the swift
Mereed River shoots out far from its ledee, this (sreat fall ranks first anion;; the Yoseniite
eataraets, and many visitors deem it the most beautiful.

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

l.ittU- \ osfiiillf, with C'loiifiN Rest in the db«tanee,

peaks. Out from each of these horseshoe-shaped basins poured, during
the glacial epochs, a tributary to the Merced Glacier. To-day almost

every cirque holds a tiny
lake, from which flows a
modest stream, the begin-
ning of one of the "forks"
of Merced Ri\er. The
whole of the \ast amphithe-
atci- is thus seen to be close-
ly dissected, by the plowing
of these glaciers, and the
erosion of these streams, in-
to an area of deep canons
and narrow, thickly-set
ridges, all converging to-
wards the rock-walled lakes,
Washburn and Merced, and
sending on their supplies
to the profound Yosemite
gorge. Down in those caii-
ons, when we explore them,
are discovered sunny alpine
lakes and scores of loud-
spoken cataracts. Some-
times the lakes have filled,
'hlo^rMiltvo^mu::" " '■ "' ""■ and become shining alpine

Iluiinell l*4»iiii

100

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Sunset over B^venlns: Clouds in Voseniite, seen from I'nion l*olnt, ivitli Sentinel Itoek on

the left and I'.! Cnpitjin on rif£ht.

meadows. Sometimes the straight cataracts ha\'e aged into broicen cas-
cades, and their thunders softened to the gentler songs of gliding, dashing

waters. But everywhere, in pol-
ished granite walls and floors as in
waterfalls, lakes and lake \alleys
upon the caiion steps, is the easily
read report of a colossal ice-stream.
As Merced Canon forms the
southeast branch of Yosemite Val-
ley, so the still deeper caiion of
Tenaya Creek is its northeastern
arm. Here the glacial story is less
plain, and on first sight, from the
heights on either side, it might be
overlooked. For above the cafi-
on's lower two miles, — that is, be-
yond the foot of Mt. Watkins, — it
crowds to a narrow box-caiion be-
tween that great cliff and the
steep incline of Clouds Rest. This
I .* might seem to be a sharp V-shaped,
\' stream-cut gorge, rather than to
On the "Short Tr.-iii" I., liiaeier foint. This havc the broadcr U-shapcd trough

tr:iil eoinninnilN s|ilenitid ^ ie«s of Sentinel , , ,1 \^Ci. I, , ., ,1 , ,'.^„ IJ «.

Hoek. YoKeniite Kails and .he Valley lloor. COHimonly Ictt by a glaClCr. liut

102

VOSEMITE AND ITS lIKill Sll.KKA

ll;ilf l><iiiie lit >iiiiriN(', Ket'ii frtiiii (iliit'it'r I*<»jii1.

a little exploration discovers glacial tootprints in tiic terminal moraines and
the lakes and filled lake-beds, with tine connecting waterfalls, that mark a
glacier's descent from the Cathedral Peak Range, south of the I uolumne.

We have hardh' entered the
canon, indeed, before we are
reminded of El Capitan mo-
raine and the enclosed Yosem-
ite Lake. A similar boulder
ridge, thrown across the caiion
here, is traversed by the road
as it carries visitors on their
early morning trips to see the
sunrise reflections in "Mirror
Lake." This lakelet esidently
occupies the lowermost of the
glacial steps. It is a mere re-
minder of its former si/e, the
delta of Tenaya Creek ha\ing
stolen a mile from its upper
end. I'arther up the caiion,
below and above Mt. Wat-
kins, stream sediment has al-
ready turned other lakelets in-
to meadows. But eight miles
east of Yosemite, at the head
of the caiion, Tenava Lake
"Short ■vr-.uv i..r,..„- ,;,„,i,r ,..,i,.,. not onU' prcscnts one of the

Teiia>:i < afioii hihI tlir H:ilf Dome, sei'ii from i.
Half Donif l»> iveatheriiip; is well Kliown.

kiiiN. left. Cloiids Rest, ri^lit. nnil Teiinyn Peak, eiKlit niiles anay at
Tlie Inte tJnleii Tlurk, npe U4, seated on "Pliof onraiiliers" Hoek."

aeier I'oiiit. The perpend ten I jir elea^ ape of the
Mirror I.nke Ilex belo«", and liejond ri«e Mt, A\'at-

lie liend (»f the eanoii.

104

VOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

most lascinating
views in the whole
Farli, but also re-
calls, in its polished
frranite walls and
liomes and pave-
ments a very differ-
ent scene, — a picture
of the old Tuolumne
(jlacicr, split against
the east front of
Mt. Hoffman, and
sending part of its
immense ice-flood
d o \\- n T u o 1 u m n e
Canon, to quarry
Hetch Hetchy, and
the rest over the low
divide into the Ten-
aya basin, to form
the main ice supply
of Tenaya Glacier
and help excavate
Yosemite Valley.
The deeply plowed
track and surprising
work of this glacier
are well shown in the illustrations given on pp. 16, 27, and 49.

Thus Tenaya Canon forms no exception. Its narrowness between
Clouds Rest and Mt. Watkins, seen in Prof. Le Conte's pictures on page
46, is plainly due to the solidity of the huge inclined strata of the former,
and the fact that
the latter is a single
block of massive
granite, rising as
high, as sheer and as
unbroken as El Cap-
itan, which it greatly
resembles. The stri-
king contrast Ten-
aya Caiion thus pre-
sents to Yosemite
Valley is lucidly set

forth by Dr. Fran- SentinrI Domr, on the Platrnu above VoNeniite Valley, xonth of
T,' 1* * 4.#.L , Sentinel Roek. On the Niiiiiinlt l.s seen the lone .lelTrey I'ine

^OlS -Li. iViattneS, VThleli is shown at Inri^e on the opposite paee.

A Charaof eristic l>onie I.aiiiiscaiK'; \ iew north from <ilaeier
I'oint, looliinft' :i«Tos.s \oseniite X'alley lo Ni»rlh l)onlt^ ILisket
Doiiie, ami >It. lloiVnian. In the foreKroiiiiil. ii(»te tiie ileep fis-
sure separating: ^^'asllinK'ton' t'oluinn from the lt«i^al Arehes.

106

VOSliMlTi: AM) ITS IlKJll SIKKKA

'^M^^

'iiics, (lit' preiloiiiinniit
ill ^oMfiiiUe \ alley

the noted expert of the United States Geo-
logical Sur\e\% who has for some years been
in charge of the Sur\ev"s thorough in\esti-
gation into the geological history of the Vo-
semite region :

The Vosemite Valley evidently was carved from
prevailingly Hssured materials in which the ice was
able to (juarry to great depth and width. Tenaya Cation,
on the other hand, was laid along a rather narrow zone
of fissuring, flanked by close-set, solid masses; and the
glacier that flowed through it. while permitted to carve
deeply — more deeply even than the mightier Yosemite
Glacier, — was impeded in its lateral excavating, and has
been able to produce only a narrow, gorge-like trough. —
Sketi/i of Yosemite Nniionnl P/irk.

The full report of Mr. Matthes' Yo-
semite studies, which the Geological Survey
expects to publish before the close of the
present year, has long been looked forward
to. Pending its preparation, he has from
time to time made public, in the Sierra Club
Biillfli)! and elsewhere, preliminarv obser-
\ations of great value. In one such pass-
age, he cites the progress of geological study
in the Yosemite Sierra since the davs of such
pioneer glacierologists as Clarence King and
John Muir. 1 take pleasure in quoting this
aLithoritati\e statement, as it clearly sum-
marizes its author's deductions regarding
matters formerly in dispute:

In Muir's day glacial science was in its infancy,
and no man had as yet that perspective of the succession
of ice-ages and intervening epochs of milder climate
which the worlil-wide research of the last two decades
has made known to us. To Muir and his contempo-
raries the Glacial Epoch still seemed a single, uninter-
rupted cycle of glacial conditions that slowly reached a
climax, like an oncoming tide, and then slowly waned,
the glaciers making many repeated but progressively
feebler re-advances, like the waves of an outgoing tide.
To-day we know that the Glacial Epoch, so called, really
consisted of several prolonged ice-tides separated by
ei|ually prolonged intervals, during each of which the
ronlinental ice-sheet and the lesser ice-bodies on our
Western mountain ranges shrank back to their sources
and perhaps vanished altogether.

In the Sierra Nevada indications of at least two
uieat ice-floods have been clearly recognized by several
iliservers, — two ice-floods that occurred manifestly at
widely difl^erent times, the later culminating probably
oidy twenty thousand years ago, the earlier, perhaps as

THE CANON OF YOSEMITE

107

much as several humlrcd thousand
years ago. The evidence is the
more readily established as the later
ice-flood was the smaller and less
extensive of the two and left undis-
turbed the moraines — that is, the
ridges of ice-carried rock debris —
that mark the limits of the earlier
ice-flood. In no part of the Sierra
Nevada have these facts been ascer-
tained with more precision than in
the Yosemite region and the High
Sierra immediately above it. T'hus
it is now definitely known that the
later ice-flood invaded the Yosemite
Valley only as far as the Bridal
Veil Meadows, whereas the earlier
ice-flood advanced eleven miles
farther down the Merced Caiion,
coming to a halt a short distance
beyond El Portal. — Sierra Club Bul-
letin, Vol. xi., pp. 21, 22.

Many who come to Yo-
semite late in the season are
disappointed when they dis-
cover that the long summer
of the High Sierra has de-
pleted the famous Merced
cataracts, Vernal and Ne-
vada, and perhaps quite
dried up Yosemite, Illilou-
ette and Bridal Veil Falls.
Hence too much emphasis
can not be laid on the fact
that the sight and music of ^ ^
these waterfalls, phenom-
enal as we must regard
them, are not the only or
the best pleasure which Yo-
semite has to offer the intel-
ligent visitor. Even though
he may not class himself
with the "nature-lovers,"
one must be strangely in-
sensible to the wonder-
worI<ings of nature if he fail
to see that the Yosemite picture is of far wider scope and mystery, and
of far greater importance and charm, than is voiced even by its falling
waters. As often as I have visited the Valley, the marvel of its colossal
framing still seems the greater with each return. How such mass and

<'liiiil>in;;' the Half l>(»iiie. This feat, lon^ deemed iiii-
|i<>.s.sihle, «ns first achieved in l-ST.' I>y George C
.\ii4iers(»ii, >vli4», witli ealile and eye-l»<ilt.s. Iiiiilt a
trail to tlie top. Hut avalanohe.s s^vept tliis atvay.
In 1!H{^ under the auspices of the Sierra C'liih and
witli funds Biven hy a nieniber, tlie ne«- trail shtMvn
here ^vas 4>(»n.strueted with iron po.st.s. steel e:il>le.s,
footholds. ;ind. at the steepest point, a riO-fot»t lad-
der. 'I'lle tilial :iseent. XttO ft., over an incline some-
times excceilin;;- AT* dejsrees, is thus made safe and
comparatively easy. The summit. 4,!»70 ft. above
the \'alley floor. <»fVers a memorahle vie«- of V4»-
seniite, l.iltic ^ *>seiiiite, and most of the llerced-
lllilitiictte watershed.

108

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

height were shaped
to perfect propor-
tion and beauty, in-
stead of mere wild
bulk, and how the
whole view, seen
from almost any
point in the Valley,
was softened to a
landscape blending
sylvan grace with
tremendous power,
must always be a
study of surprise,
interest and value.
And so I repeat that
the greatest and fin-
est thing to be seen
in Yosemite is the
record of its making, written upon its sculptured walls, accented by its
highest summits, and gently told again in the sunny forests and flowery
meads of its floor. What a debt to the cold snows of the Sierra, and to
the slow, savage ice-streams which they fed! And what forces of prime-
val world-making molded El Capitan, Half Dome and the Sentinel to
survive the glacier's mightiest thrusts! These superb cliffs, perhaps the
noblest rocks in the world, withstood the ice as they now endure the storms.
Serene and distinguished, they dominate the great Valley, expressing Yo-
semite's majesty. "The Colorado Grand Caiion," wrote John Burroughs,
"is more unearthly, apocryphal; but one could li\'e with Yosemite."

The KiNNiircs, a deep f::a-sh in the south \v:ill of the \'nlley, near
Tnft l*olnt. 'I'hi.s was made hy the er<»sion of a .small seetion
of highly fissile roel& amidst an area of solider j^ranite.

ICanKers* t'luii-llouse in loseiiiile \ alley, a uift from Stephen
'I', ^latlier. IJireetor of the >ational Park Ser\iee. !*» the men
^vli(» are developing and KuardiiiK the i'ark.

KveninK PriinroseN and the Half Dome. These beautiful hiininoUN yelloiv tl4»>vers are a faiiiilar
decoration of Yoseinlte, Hetohy Hetehy and o her valleys in the Park durin;; July, ^vhen their
bud.s **poi>" open noiNily at .sunset for a sing;!,' ni^ht of fr»K'rant revelry.

\t the Koot of PtTtiniKlcx I*:i.sk in Koltrtinry. Tnkon «>n the e.vtreiii4'
Kouthenstcrn border of the I'urk. ^vith t^ale l*eiik 4lO.!NE<) ft.» t^vo
iiiileN ii^vny. This nnd other nii4»«v Neeiies shoivii in these pn^es vividly
illiistrnte llie o|i|>i»rMi nit ies for ^vinter iiioiin tii iiieeriim- in the Niinny
\ oNenilte iipianils.

erster Peak. S« culleil

'I'riple Divide l*eak (ll,Gli{ tt.i, seen fritiii iiieadow.s al the foot c»f l'^t>er.. — . „

because its permanent nno^v-fields feed the San Joaiiiiin Ki^ er and t^vo forks of the
Meroed.

III.
Ox\ THE CALIFORNIA SKY-LINE

The silence that is in the starry sky.
The sleep that is among the lonely hills.
— William H'ordsiL'orlh.

I ramble to the summit of Mt. Hoffman, eleven thousand feet high, the
highest point in life's journey my feet have yet touched. And what
glorious landscapes are about me, new plants, new animals, new crystals,
and multitudes of new mountains, far higher than Hoffman, towering
in glorious array along the axis of the range, serene, majestic, snow-
laden, sun-drenched, vast domes and ridges shining below them, forests,
lakes, and meadows in the hollows, the pure blue bell-flower sky brooding
them all, — a glory day of admission into a new realm of wonders as if
Nature had wooingly whispered, "Come higher."

— John Miiir: "My First Summer in the Sierra."

^^[HE best way to see Yosemite is from the heights. The wonder
and pleasure of this experience draws thousands of visitors each
summer to Yosemite Point, overIooi<ing Yosemite Palls, and
thence to the still higher north-side ele\ations of El Capitan,
Three Brothers (Eagle Peak) and the North Dome; or, on the south, to
Glacier Point, Sentinel Dome and the great outlooks offered by the Long
Trail and Pohono Trail. To these comparatively easy ascents from the
Valley may now be added the Half Dome, attainable by the new trail at
the cost of a little more effort, but not called real mountain-climbing by
the real out-door man or woman. All these adjacent elevations can be
made on foot by everybody who commands good wind and a fair pair of
legs. Other visitors are ad\ised to take horses. It is not well to under-

112 YOSEMITE AM) ITS HIGH SIERRA

Mt. Hoffn ail. Clouds Rest.

Mt. Clark.

Wninl and Ne\ndn Falls.

I'aniirnnia I'rtMii IWiirier Point. lIcKinnitiK witit \tirth Utiiiie mid its nei^^hdors 4»n the
a jsenii-rircle, t* iiibrnrinf; the deep eafions of Tennjn Creek nnd >Iereed Hiver, tlie great
) «iNeiiiite Yvithout visitin;? (ilaeier l*oiiit, ivhieh ooniniandN one of the nolileNt and most

estimate either the labor required or the rewards to be obtained. As one
rises from the Valley, the view develops unexpected surprises; the oppo-
site cliffs rise with him; new rock forms are discovered, colossal and unique;
near-by proportions and distant perspective alike change with increasing
altitude; until, at last, from the summits he beholds at his feet a vaster and
more wonderful Yosemite than he has ever dreamed of. Few things are
better worth while than such a climb. These upland trails are the keys
that unlock, not only the secrets of Yosemite Valley, with its cliff sculptures,
waterfalls and glacial story, but also the greater mysteries of the higher
mountains. No one can ascend the Yosemite heights, under the clear
Sierran sky, and behold the panorama which they unfold of the far-away
California sky-line, without hearing the call of those snowy peaks and
sunny ranges rising in the east. And even if he can not respond in person,
he will gain from his broader outlook enduring memories of the grandeur
E "^^^ ■ ' ''"^ peace of the mountains, recollections

f'^' that

t 3i . . . have power to m.ike

I ^''-»„ Our noisy years seem moments in the being

Of the eternal Silence.

Splendid views of the High Sierra may
be had from Glacier Point or North Dome,
and nearer ones from Clouds Rest, east
of Half Dome and easily reached by trail
from Nevada Pall. Clouds Rest is the
highest point on the rim of the Valley.
I am sorry for any one who leaves Yo-
X »_ Semite without at least visiting Glacier
Climbing Mt. c'larkr Point. Evcn here the panorama inchules

ON THE CALIFORNIA SKY-LINE

113

Mt. Starr King.

Illilouette Watershed Glacier Point Hotel.

north «'all of Yo.seiiiite Valley, bnckeil by distant >It. HnfTiuan, the oanieru sweeps throii^'h
watershed of the Illilouette, anil all the heights, near and far, iVo one should leave
interesting landscapes in Anieriea.

not only the whole of Yosemite Valley and the neighboring domes, but
embraces a score of noteworthy snow-peaks lightly silhouetted against the
distant blue.

It is important for the convenience and benefit of all Yosemite visitors
that Glacier Point be brought by better roads nearer to the floor of the
Valley. Hence it is to be hoped that when the road across Forsyth Pass
is constructed, the undertaking will include a branch turning west from the
top of Nevada Fall, crossing Panorama Point and the hanging valley of
the Illilouette, climbing Glacier Point to the attractive new hotel there, and
continuing along the south rim on the route of Pohono Trail, past Sentinel
Dome and the best viewpoints over Yosemite Valley. Such a road, besides
being many miles shorter than the present roundabout and uninteresting
trip via Chinquapin, would quickly become one of the famous scenic high-
ways of the world. I believe it no less feasible than desirable. As to the
possibility of obtaining an
appropriation for this work,
in addition to the Forsyth
Pass road, I find the whole
matter convincingly summed
up in a letter received from
the Superintendent of the
Yosemite Park. Lack of
funds has long hampered
Mr. Lewis In his efforts to
fit the roads of the Park for
automobile travel, and what
he says may therefore be
commended especially to on i.ake washhum at sunset.

114

VOSKMITE AND US HIGH SIERRA

the attention of the CalitOr-
nia delegation in Congress:

If the proper enthusiasm is
placed behind a real road-building
plan for Yosemite, the question of
a few hundred thousand dollars,
one way or the other, is not going
to prevent it from receiving Con-
gressional approval. Likewise, un-
less there is some force brought to
hear, any scheme is going to be de-
feated, and we shall continue on
iiur present course of uncertain an-
nual appropriations, allowing only
for the barest needs.

A disappointing lack of
understanding recently de-
feated— for a time, only, I
hope, — a worthy effort to
make Glacier Point quickly
accessible from the Valley
floor. This was a plan to
dri\e an inclined tunnel
from near the site of the
Sierra Club's Le Conte
Memorial upwards to near
the Glacier Point Hotel on
the rim abo\e. The tram-
way would be wholly under-
ground, thus offering tele-
phone and electric light
\^ires much-needed protec-
tion from snow, and carry-
ing passengers from one
level to the other in a few
minutes. On every count, the thing seems both desirable and feasible.
But it met a storm of protest, largely due to the misrepresentations of a
certain popular weekly, which employed a well-known California writer,
who might easily have learned the facts, if he did not know them, to expose
the project as a scheme to hang a railway on the outside of 1^1 Capitan!
In time, no doubt, this underground road will splendidly demonstrate its
value by carrying many thousands of Yosemite visitors to a better acquain-
tance with the Yosemite upland in summer, and in winter to the best snow
sports obtainable anywhere in California.

Views of the High Sierra from the summits overlooking Yosemite
Valley are a poor substitute for the prime enjoyment of days and nights
spent among the loftv passes and fascinating alpine meadows nearer the

On the OverhanKinK Hofk at (ilaripr r^ilit, with eiwht
teet of sli€»«. (ilarier l*oilit. with its platrail well
above 7,000 feet, seems destined (o l»ee<Mne liie eliief
€*enter of winter sports in lh<' Sierra, wlien the eoni-
l»leted State road to l-:! I'orlal tills the \:illey with
winter visitors. itiit to make it easily aee«^Nsilile
in ^vinter. 4>ar]y e<»nstriietioii of the |>r<»|tosed in-
elineil tunnel from the \ alley is needed.

116

VOSEMITK AND ITS HKill SIKRKA

backbone of the range, with such ascents as may be within one's time and
inclination. Hence the most important thing about the trails out ot the
Valley is that they invite one on and on, to the grander Yosemite of the
far heights.

Visiting the Yosemite Sierra has till recently meant genuine explora-
tion, but with the good trails now opened to many parts of the Park, one
can hardly go anywhere below timber line without finding signboards or
blazes guiding him to lake or peak or valley. All this is in disregard
of the professional
climber's fear that
his favorite wilds
will be rushed by
the "mob." The
Park Administra-
tion wisely aims to
make this great na-

II o I II III II 4* l*:iss, — ii|>|iiT
liew loiikitiK .smith;
louver viftv. north, lit*-
liiiv IN Neeii a niki^v-
tivUl on the slopt* of
MX. Vo^elNaii^'. with
ailvanre of Sii>rra i'lllh
liafk-train c-oiiiinu in-
to \'ietv. Ilf.vonil art*
HatVerty Crt'fk Canon
and HatVerty and .lohn-
son Peaks.

tional recreation
ground fully acces-
sible to the public, as well as to the mountain enthusiast. The "mob," of
course, will not follow; but mountain parties become larger every year,
and with the establishment of lodges at Lake Merced, Lake Tenaya, and
Tuolimine Meadows, the number of such companies taking the long trails
is likewise multiplying. No season would be long enough to cover all the
trails, of which the Park has six hundred miles. Hence it is best to under-
take some definite section, knowing that unforeseen calls are likely to be
made on one's energy and time. Every section offers enough of interest
and wonder to make a summer's vacation a round of unforgettable days.
And if your vacation fall in winter, the Yosemite country will wel-
come you then quite as whole-heartedly. We have not as yet made winter
mountaineering the popular sport it deserves to be; but when it becomes
a popular sport in America, as it long has been in F.urope, then California's
High Sierra, and notably the Yosemite uplands, with their abundant snow

ii ;

■^ ;-

f.^

^-i^ ^

m ^

118

VOSEMITK AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

and steady weather, invit-
ing the climber to explore
the lofty mountains easily
reached from Yosemite Vil-
lage, will see the best of it.
The fascination of such ad-
ventures is shown in the re-
markable High Sierra win-
ter scenes reproduced in the
following pages by courtesy
of Miss Elizabeth Keith
Pond, of Berkeley, and
her brother, Mr. Charles
McHenrvPond, well known

Siiinnier Siii»\^-
ti <■ I (1 s In t h <-
Sierra, Ippcr
picture sho\^ s
linrty enteriii;;
Park via l>un-
ohue PusM and
eaNt shf»iilfler
of >lount I. yell.
Middle, n vie^i
south, near

jf^i^^^>^

fin

^(►erster Pons,
noroKN frozen
Kake llnrriet.
I.<»\ver, coiiNt-
iiif; on Niiow
s I (» p e near
I-'oerstor I'nss.
ivit h M ereed
Cnfion nnd Mt.
<'lark In dis-
(nnee beyontl.

f»t-^

both as a mountaineer and
an a\iator. These daring
climbers, one February
se\eral years ago, made an
expedition across the Illil-
ouette basin and over \Ier-
ced Pass, thence to the top
of Fernandez Pass and of
Triple Divide Peak, on
the southeastern border of
the Park. It was an experi-
ence few have yet enjoyed,
but the story told by these
pictures and in Miss Pond's

UY«riiS?Kfr>-'-.«3;

120

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

l.onkiii;^- lip I, yell Fork of the Tiioliiiiiiie, with Kunu <^'reNt on the exti-eiiie left, INitler
I'oiiit in the center, and ParNoiiN Peak at the eiiil of the riil;::e heyond.

charming plea for mid-winter climbing should inspire many to repeat it.
"I am delighted," Miss Pond writes, "that you will call attention to
the opportunities in and around Yosemite for winter mountaineering.
There is nothing else like it, — such a \ast chain of accessible mountains,
with their great rivers, forests and meadows under the deepest of winter
snows, yet bathed by the warmest of winter suns. For those who love

the winter camp in the open, and joys of
snowshoes and skii, such a country is ideal.
"Take your snowshoes down from the
\,all, build a sled on skii, and climb to the
lim of Yosemite Valley when the snow lies
tieep over boulders, brush and ice-bridged
streams; then away through meadow, for-
est, and over the pass. Artist, camera and
pen cannot present the full beautv of these
\ ast snow-clad mountains imder sun, moon
or lowering storm; but mental pictures live
forever in the memories of those who ha\e
camped among them.

"With shoepacks, strong snowshoes,
and ilurable sled well laden with blankets
ami bacon, come with us up the \\'awona
R(Kul in IcbiHiarw ^ ou need muscle for
the hills, biit the sled will glide like a boat
<in the le\el, and has the wings of a bird
on the down slopes. Take a few days

l*ai'k 'l>:iin at \ «»u*t'Isaii;i Pass. lit. . . . . . _ ,. . ■

(lark is seen in llie distanee. tO CXplorC ttlC mil Of tllC \ alleV, MonO

122

YOSEMITE AND ITS HI(;il SIERRA

Rodgers, Klet'trii nnd DnviN I't^aks. Mecn from near iMlaiifl l*asN.

Meadow, and Glacier Point; and while we stand on the summit of Sentinel
Dome, we shall choose our route along the slopes of Mt. Starr King, and
up the wide, open spaces of the Illilouette, to the southern heights of the
Mt. Clark Range. If we are snowed in for a few days, here or there, let

us build a lean-to. When the storm
blows over, wind and sun form a
new crust, and the going is better
than ever.
I *^'"^"^^W "The glorious winter days in

the High Sierra can not be sur-
passed. Clouds and snow-showers
bring added beauty of color; sun-
rise and sunset transfigure the land-
scape with indescribable splendor.
Time speeds by. We cross Mer-
ced Pass, camp a while in the snow
at Moraine Meadows, at the head
of South Fork of the Merced, and
a few days later stand on Fernan-
dez Pass, more than 10,000 feet
> ,1 -. x^^HS^^SK^^BQRm above sea-level. It has been a stifF

climb in the snow, but worth all the
effort, for we seem on the very top
of the world, looking over a sea of
mighty mountains. Down again we

A Convrnlent «raok. Sii.-h <-haii<-e fiNsures mUSt gO, intO thc UppCr VallcyS of
frenucntly tiffer the only iiossihlc trnlls i C T ' ] ^L 1 „

aoro«H the Binoier-.H.iishe.i Brani..- slopes, thc San Joaquin; and another long

\s^m^^f9ms^^ ti,.

..«

.;^

E
e
k.

^^^

a
& 0

C X

s „

.it

" i6

E«.

- s

M g

124

YOSEMIl 1-: AND US IlKJI! SII-.RRA

Kiiii:i (rest, seen from iticndows iiciir >Ioii«» I*:in.s.

climb brings us Lip Triple Di\"ide Peak. Here let us camp for several
days, to enjoy the most wonderful view of all. The wind may blow, and
the snow fall; but there is a rock for shelter, and the brush will burn!
Night will be as brilliant as day, for the moon is full, and the stars seem
within arms' reach. We lie snug and warm in our blankets on the snow, —
No boughs here for beds ! — and gaze out over three great mountain ranges.
A snow cornice overhangs, so we make a careful descent by cutting steps
in the ice, lowering the sled and shoes, and sending the rolls of blankets
over the brink. Away they go, out of sight; but we shall find them some-
where in the e\"ening.

"We are now on the homeward stretch,
down the headwaters of the Merced, skimming
Lake Washburn on the ice. Another day's
climb, up I'.cho Creek and down the Sunrise
Trail, \\ill bring us back to the Valley."

Except for the old Tioga Road, as I have
shown, all highways entering the Yosemite Park
lead to Yosemite \'illage, and now, I am sorry
to add, end there; tra\el to the uplands south
and east of the Valley, or north of the Tuol-
umne Ri\er, sa\-e for the hardy mountaineers
who can carry their own blanket-rolls and knap-
sacks, must he by the horse-trails. Of these
there are already 615 miles, with a large ex-
tension of the system planned for that da\' —
May it be near at hand! — when Congress shall

■^-

>}>^

-«.

( 'llllillU Sl*'|ts II |l tlU' S|M»M -

l'inK:«-r on >I < . I.>t'll. — thv

4*liiii:ix of ii loii;^ anil iiit<*r-
«>>itliiu :is<>4'ii t.

ON THE CALIFORNIA SKV-LINE

125

awake to the desirability of dealing justly by this great Park. Meanwhile,
several important trails have recently been built. The most interesting
of these are the Forsyth Pass Trail, leading across the 9,000-foot gap
just east of Clouds
Rest, and the much-
needed beginning
of a trail down the
north bank of the
Tuolumne to the
celebrated but al-
most inaccessible
Waterwheel Falls.

AboAC, >U. Dana I i::,ll.'>0
ft.l. Keen from (■il»bK. Ile-
lon-. Gibhs 3Iountain 412,-
700 ft.), from the Dan:i-
<>ililis .saddle.

The Forsyth Pass
route, soon, let us
hope, to be used by the
new automobile road,
offers a capital day's
journey, horseback or
afoot, via the great falls of the Merced, and the lower end of Little Yo-
semite, to Tenaya Lake. En route, the wayfarer may enjoy one of the
finest of the great tamarack pine forests that cover many of the Park's
highlands, and study glacier history written plain at the top of Forsyth
Pass. Here glacial scorings, and thickly strewn boulders that were plucked
from uplifted sea-beaches back on the crest of the range and freighted
hither to diversify this granite land-
scape, tell of former glacier levels, and
remind us of the tremendous depth
and mass of the ice-streams that were
pushed down from Tenaya Lake and
the Cathedral Peak plateau on the
north and from all the Merced sources
on the south. It is one of the sunniest
and best-paying trail trips near the Val-
ley, especially if, at the top of the pass,
one turns off for the short ascent of an-

„^l ^ *.U -. J J-* 1. ^ 4.1 '^ r *'Aiir«»ii" :inil (ilarial Tarn ,,r l.akelet. on

Other thousand feet to the summit of tL Merced at head ..f I.Utle Yo»emite.

126

YOSEMMK ANO ITS UK, II Sll.KKA

Clouds Rest, ami the broad panorama of snow-peaks which it unfolds.
The trail down the Tuolumne Canon leads as yet only to the upper
fall, but it commands a fair view of the whole series, and makes every one
who travels down from Conness Creek and Glen Aulin rejoice that Super-
intendent Lewis finds himself able now to extend it to the main falls and
on to Return Creek Canon. Every mile of the way tells wonderful stories
of the work of ice and stream in digging this colossal trench. We shall
see much of it, and of the Waterwheels, in the next chapter. Another

much-needed trail ex-
tension is the promised
completion of Harden
Lake I rail down the
huge south wall of
Tuolumne Caiion and
across the river to Pate
' ^^W^^ ^ ^M^^^iaHS Valley. This trail, when

opened, will furnish one
of the most remarkable

III \l|iiiif Ciiliforiilii. \l>ove.
>lt. I>una (iljK'ier, Neon fniiii
the Muniiiiit. nlth euiiiera
pointing shnrply diiwnward
to the iiiiiriiineN nnil Nnotv-
fiivered iee ensi'mles. lie-
low, an aretie pool, not at
the North I'ole, hilt In lllooily
t 'niinn.

. It i, .^■■':t'

scenic trips in the Yosem-
ite or any other National
Park. Both these im-
provements, Mr. Lewis writes, will be made during the summer of 1921.
The next step in trail development on the Tuolumne will be a trail from
Return Creek Canon, over the ridge above Muir Gorge (see p. 39), to
Pate Valley.

Outing parties visiting the High Sierra may now leave Yosemite Vil-
lage, where camp equipment and supplies, horses and guides are to be
had, by one of several trails. The most popular are, first, those by Nevada
Fall, Little Yosemite and Lakes Merced and Washburn in the Merced
Canon, continung thence up to the headwater peaks, or diverging to the
Illilouette basin or across one of the north-side passes to the Cathedral
Peak uplands; second, the trails from Glacier Point south to the lakes north
of Wawona, or east to the upper Illilouette country and the heights of the
Merced Range; and, third, the Snow Creek and Yosemite Falls Trails to
the Tioga Road, and thereby to Lake Tenaya and Tuolumne Meadows.

128

YOSEMITE AND IIS HIGH SIERRA

The Merced route, besides
attractive branch trails to
Clouds Rest, Mt. Clark, and
their great outlooks, connects
with other well-blazed trails
crossing the Merced-Tuolumne
divide via Sunrise Mountain or
Tuolumne Pass; and also offers
access to the entire upper water-
shed of the Merced. In this
basin, the Merced's branches
flow down from cirques and
'^.. snowfields which form a great
i'! horseshoe stretching from the
'■ Merced Range and Triple Di-
vide Peak, on the south, along
the crest of the Sierra to the
Cathedral Peak Range. Its
principal peaks, reaching eleva-
tions of twelve anci thirteen
thousand feet, are Long, Foers-
ter, Electra, Rodgers. Lyell,
McClure, Florence, Parsons
and Vogelsang, — a splendid
line of snow-fountains, encir-
cling a \"ast amphitheater laced
with canons and ridges, and ev-
erywhere decorated with great
riioraines left by the old Merced
Cilacier. In this wild region,
Mr. Muir counted sixty-seven
glacier lakes, not to mention
scores of others in the Illilou-
ette basin, and a multitude more
on the south side of the Park,
in the watershed of the Merced's South Fork.

This whole section is a favorite haunt of sportsmen, since its lakes and
streams are abundantly stocked with trout, — as, indeed, are the waters of
the entire Park. Many thousands of young trout have been successfully
planted in nearly every stream and larger lake, up to nine or ten thousand
feet. As the region offers some of the toughest mountaineering, so no-
where in America is there better fishing.

Down in Yosemite Valley, the Merced shelters many an educated
trout that exhibits only indifference to the lures of the fly-book. But back
in the streams ami lakes of the higher altitudes, as well as in the less fished

I'oi'ksi'oiiili 4'r4*.s(, iiMi.st t'iirit»ii.s mill .strikiiiK **f
lllllliy iiiniinrlcd iii(»lintllili iims.se.s fl(»t(iiiK (h*^
Hlpiiu' plateau east of Cathedral Peak. The
KpireN er€»«-|iin(:: this crest and its neiffhikor.s,
1 nleorn. Keho, Coluiiibia and the Cathedral it-
self 4 see |>. 27). testify that they missed the
iee-plane, anil thus sliotv the highest reaeli of
the K'reat 'l'iii»liiiiine tilaeier.

ON THE CALIFORNIA SKY-LINE

129

'I'lie "iter^Mi'tirunil** uf Lyell Glacier. Thi.s German word < **iii4>uiitain rift**» is apiilied tn
the great crevasse stretching across the head of every active glacier at the point where
its motion begins, and the ice-stream pulls away from the summit snowtield. To the
weathering of the slope exposed in such crevasses, through daily tha^ving anil freez-
ing in summer, is chiefly due the head-wall cutting that digs the **circiue" or glacial
heafl-liasin far back into the heart of the mountain, and opens passes through the range.
This is now recognized as the prime factor in the sculpturing of high mountain dis-
tricts. The upper rim of a bergschrunil often overhangs, as here, in a "snow-cornice."

waters of Hetch Hetchy, during July and August, even a novice may fill
his creel with glittering beauties. The native Rainbow trout {Salnto
irideus) is widespread in the Sierra. The Eastern Brook trout (Salvelintis
fnnt'tnal'ts) , introduced here from the hatchery near Wawona, has multi-
plied extensively on the
upper Merced, especially \
in Merced and Washburn
Lalces, and also in the Tu-
olumne basin. A few Tahoe
trout (Saiiiio wxkiss hcn-
shazvi) are also to be taken
in the Merced, and an oc-
casional Loch Levin, or
hybrids of it with native
species, rewards the angler.
On the other hand, the

„,^.i,^/»,.<^..11,, U..:ii:.,„4. „„ i '''"^ I plands in July. View of Kcho Peak from I'nieorn
wonderfully brilliant and peak, with Mt. Honman in the distance.

130

YOSEMITK AND ITS lll(;il SIKKRA

gamy (iolden trout ot high altitudes in the Mt. Whitney region is not fouiul
here. It is to be caught only in the lakes and streams ot the southern
Sierra, notably in the Cottonwootl Lakes, where it is known scientitically
as Salmo agtia-bonita, and in N'olcanic Creek, Salmo roosi-vclli.

I'Or those who mix
mountain climbing with
their fishing, or vice
versa, the snow-peaks
that sentinel the Mer-
ced amphitheater offer
fascinating ascents; and
the climber is rewardeil
with far-reaching views,
both of that watershed
and of the upper San ^^

SiiiiiiHil of <'4»iiiiesM >loiinfiiln
(12, .'.'I! ft. I. 'I'hf I'liir Mliiinn
bfliiiv is the I<>|| i>f a -J.dOO-
fintt >T:tll, part iif thf rial «»f
:iii ;in4*ient ;£tii(*i:ll <'ir(|iif.

Joaquin. But the best
mountain climbing in the
Park is doubtless to be had
from Tuolumne Meadows
as a base. The way thither
from the upper Merced,
by either pass, is a day's
easy march across high
country of broad, snowy cols and sunny, wind-swept plateaus, dotted with
peaks of curious glacial architecture and shining granite bosses, all bur-
nished by the recent ice. It is country of immense interest, because it is
astonishingly new, — so new, indeed, that the rapid disintegration common
to altitudes of nine and ten thousand feet under daily interchange of sun
and frost has not yet tarnished the landscape. Glacier-polished slopes and
benches are common enough on the uplands adjacent to ^ osemite and

132

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Hetch Hetchy. Here, on the edge
of the snowfields, they are every-
where; but thousands, perhaps
hundreds of thousands, of years
younger. How hard it is to take
Nature's word for it, that this hind
of sunshine and gentlest mountain
airs, with joyous flowers in every
hollow that holds a spoonful of
soil, was yesterday a sea of sullen
ice !

Yosemite visitors who have the
time will find a trip to Soda Springs
from the Merced, across one of the
high passes, as fine an experience as
.^^ VH the Park can give. But the Tuol-

t^ I Mfl^rifT'* ^ umne maybe reached more directly

V\f^ ^ '''■""^ ^^^ Valley, either by the Yo-

' Semite Point trail or by the Snow-

Creek trail out of Tenaya Carion.
Each of these trails soon brings one
to the Tioga Road, which he fol-
lows to Tenaya Lake, and thence
northward past Mt. Hoffman and Fairview Dome. This is the region
traversed by the south branch of the Tuolumne glacier, on its way to
Tenaya Canon and Yosemite. The cleanness of the country is amazing,
and we realize how the mighty ice-stream stripped the whole region bare
of its overlying sedimentary rock, and left only the hardest granites
(See pp. 29, 49).

The trails radiating from Tuolumne Meadows bring a score of im-

Keturnin^ from Asfent of llaiint'r l*4':ik.

The C'rnterN of >loii(i loiiiilj. 'I'his iiiiitiiit* \oli-aiii(' riiiiKt*. wliii-h lies in llir ileNert of
Eastern ('allf(»rnia, liehi^T ^lon<» PasM. rises ^..^lOO feet alM>\4' the near-hy >l€»iio Lake.
The picture in a «"inter vle«' from l*iimlee A'alley.

ON THE CALIFORNIA SKY-LINE

133

portant peaks, with their glaciers and snowfields, within easy reach of the
climber. The story of actual ascents must be left to our illustrations show-
ing some of the adventures of California's great Sierra Club.

Of all high mountain scenes which reward such strenuous sport, the
glacial head-basins are the most interesting. For they hold the secret of
the glacier's method. The fundamental importance of such cirques as
makers of mountain landscape was not recognized, even by leading geolo-
gists, till a decade or two ago. Much less was it understood that the tool

Matterliorn Canon, seen from its e:ist slope. Matterhorn Peak ( 12,27:2 ft.), is on the sky-
line at rig'lit, and the Saw-Tooth Ran^^e in the distance on left of center. This slope
bears one of the noblest forests of beautiful alpine hemlocks to be found in the Park.

with which that work is done is the "bergschrund," or crevasse across the
head of every living glacier, separating the moving ice from the snowfield
above (See page 129). That the bergschrund, through its exposure of
the head-wall to daily thawing and drenching, and to nightly freezing,
plucks huge rocks from the mountain, and so drives the cirque deeper and
farther back, till great peaks are undermined and overthrown, and broad
passes are cut where two glaciers head together, — this world-old romance
of the silent, icy heights is one of the newest nature-stories told by twen-
tieth-century science. So little were these things known a few years ago,
indeed, that the famous Scotch geologist, Professor Geikie, could describe
the "corries" or cirques of the Scotch Highlands as mainly excavated by
"convergent torrents," dropping over their rims! But if Geikie's theory
begged the question, it remained for our distinguished American scientist.
Dr. Gannett, president of the National Geographic Society, writing as late
as 1898, to ascribe the cirque to the avalanches which its steep walls induce.

134

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Neither Scot nor American visual-
ized his mountain as it was before
the glaciers had clawed into its
heart. Said Gannett:

Glaciers commonly head in amphithe-
aters or cirques — basins lying under the
shadow of the summit cliffs. An amphithe-
ater is surrounded on three sides by vertical
walls or steep slopes, down which the ice
and snow slide in avalanches. The effect is
precisely like that of a waterfall. The fall-
ing snow and ice dig a hollow or depression
at the foot of the steep descent, just as water
does. Such amphitheaters are found at the
heads of all glacial gorges in the high moun-
tains.— Xational Geographic Magazine, vol.
'. p. 419.

Dr. Gannett assumed the ex-
istence of the "vertical walls" and
"steep descent" — the very things
his theory professed to account for !
But Held work by those indefatiga-

.* Typical «;iari:,i . ir.n.e on Kuna .res,, su.-h ^Ic gkcicr-trailers, Johnson and
a horseshoe-shapeii ii.aii-i..isiii i» due by Matthes, discovcred the real cause.

each fX'lacler. iiniiik' (he her^-.s4>hrllii(l as a tool.

It was the bergschrund that dug
the cirques and modeled the peaks of this new land of the West, just
as, in older time, it helped to level the once lofty ranges of the East.

California's mountains
crown all her diversified
wealth of scenery and cli-
mate. The story of her
old glaciers is as fascina-
ting as the new life of
tree and flower which they
have made possible. Un-
der the gentle and unfail-
ing sunshine of the high-
lands, on one of their
broadest alpine meadows,
those dauntless explorers,
the members of the Sierra
Club, led by John Muir,
America's greatest moun-
taineer and long their presi-
dent, discovered the Foun-
tain of Youth, and proved

/•III ,' c * Piute Mountain, and I.akelet near the head at

It no table but a ract or the seavey Pa»».

ON THE CALIFORNIA SKY-LINE

135

Yosemite Sierra. Here, at Soda
Springs on the Tuolumne, they have
established their upland headquar-
ters, Parsons Lodge, a memorial to
another beloved member, and from
this base in alternate summers they
explore all the neighboring heights.
But for Muir no building is a fit me-
morial. He is commemorated truly in
the stark granite trail which bears his
name, leading south from the Yosem-
ite country to the alps of the southern
Sierra.

And what a leader was Muir ! As
one reads his books or recalls inspir-
ing talks with him, George Sterling's
lines on another great Californian
come to mind:

of all he said, I best recall:

"He knows the sky who knows the sod ;

And he who loves a flower loves God."
Sky, flower and sod, he loved thera all.

The Sierrans testify their love of
the mountains by spending a month
each summer among them. This is
the sanest and most joyous of sport.
It was my privilege a few years ago
to join the club's large party at their camp in Tuolumne Meadows, and
there learn how two hundred and fifty men and women, drawn from all the
professions, lawyers, teachers and business men, students, doctors, preach-
ers, were able, after a day's climbing, to gather about a huge campfire, and

jest away their weariness in
club songs :

There are rocks in the cradle where
I sleep,
And roots and cones embedded
deep ;
.Aslant I lie upon tny bed.

My feet are higher than my head.
I know I shall not hear the "call" —

My camp is farthest off of all;
And so I dare not go to sleep.
While ants and lizards o'er me
creep.

liritiiii itt S.'O-foot Sequoias, shon'iii^ oliar-
a*'teristi<' dome shape of erown when
unbroken. The sharp-pointeil trees at
sides are White Firs (Abies eoneolor).

Xearing the Summit of >lt. I.yell.

Ah ! those mountain fire-
sides, after the long marches

136

YOSEMITF. AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Vif%^v Knst from ll«>iisoii I*:ins (10.i:tO ft. I. In llie fort'K t'ottiid, Wilson (rrt-k <'Hrit»n leadx
lloivn to thv >latteriiorn Cafion. I^iffht iniIeK fast, 4'onneMS >loiln(ain rises at renter of
the sky-line,

over the snow-rields, or across the passes, or down the canons! We were
not always frivolous. One evening, a brilliant college philosopher put into
crisp English Plato's legacy to modern life. Again, a returned displomat
outlined America's relations with the Orient, and a well-known Hebrew

scholar, turning from philology, very
delightfully describeil the birds of Yo-
semite. Another night, a distinguished
scientist from California's great uni-
versity explained how he told the years
of a trout. "We estimate the age of
a tree," said the solemn professor, "by
its growth rings. We estimate the age
of a horse by its teeth. We estimate
the age of a woman by counting ten,
and then asking. We estimate the age
of a fish by noting the circles in its ear-
bones." No wonder those "serious"
campfires drew crowds of tired tramp-
ers !

This inspiring society is one of the
most useful of California organiza-
tions. We mar\el that the East goes
to Europe to see mountains. This will
be true until we make our own more
Unable mountain districts as accessible

Sno« IMai.1 tSaroodes san«...i»ea..— the ^^ ^j.^ fhe AlpS, and aS Wcll knOWn.

hMv iMiic- h*-H. «hero its srni.v s<i.ins Tlic Slcrra Club is hard at work on

iiikI llfNliy liliM»(l-r4Ml tlii\\t'rs 4-Io.h('I>' t %

follow the relreal of thv snow. ttlCSC tUSKS.

^ S^ ii

"a*
r s >.

- « *

_ £ J3

3 - •

-_1„ =

T ■? *

£'£§

3 ^ ^ X

= : I d

J ° 4) 0

s s <a Eb

sirs
Si:?

i^'

b •

h S i 3

Upper Hetch He»chy. viewed from Ranrherin Trail on north side of I/e Conte Point.
IVorth Dome is seen on tlie rij^-ht. Kolana Rook In eenter, and Smith l*eak on the left,
4,200 feet above the tloor of the Valley.

IV.

TUOLUMNE GRAND CANON AND HETCH HETCHY

I see an eagle sweep
.Athwart the blue; a gleaming river bind
In gorgeous braid the valley's golden gown;
A cataract plunge o'er its distant steep,
And flutter like a ribbon in the wind.

— Herbert Bashford.

HE Sierra Club discovered the Fountain of Youth, which men
have sought for centuries; and having taken possession of it, now
plans to guard the treasure well, sharing it, however, with all
who may come to drink its sparkling waters and breathe its moun-
tain air. In the homelier language of to-day, this coveted fountain is the
"Soda Springs" on the north rim of Tuolumne Meadows, a dozen miles by
Tioga Road from Tenaya Lake, and twice as far from Yosemite Village.
No finer spot could be found for a mountaineers' rendezvous in the
High Sierra. The great valley known as Tuolumne Meadows — a Hlled-up
lake basin at the junction of the Dana and Lyell Forks of the Tuolumne
River — is about ten miles long and two in width. On all its sides, the
highest mountains of the central Sierra stand guard. Conness, Dana,
Mammoth and Lyell peaks are upon the north and east. The unique
Cathedral Range overlooks it immediately on the south. Lambert Dome
rises from its floor, and, still more beautiful, Fairview Dome towers over
its lower end, where the river, leaving its quiet meadow reaches, plunges
down the vast Tuolumne caiion on its boisterous way to Hetch Hetchy.
Upon this capital site, the club some years ago bought the old Lam-
bert, or Lembert, homestead, a quarter-section in the heart of the Meadows,

140

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

l>otvi'r lOnd of 'I'littlliiiiiie llt':i€loi%.s. tvitli <'ii(bedrjil l*(>uk on the sky-lliic. 'I'lie Tio^u Itoail
skirtN the Niiuth Nlile i>f the Valley, whieh lis als4» rea<'lied liy niiiiiy trnilM, innkinK it
the niOKt aeeeNslhle point In the n<»rth<'aNtern part of the I'ark. ivliile the Important
mountain** MiirroiindinK it make it a favorite Mtartlnu point f<»r exploration. In the
eenter of thlM pietlire i.s .seen the Soda S|»rinBs traet of the Sierra Clnh, ItSO a*'res. inelu-
dins the Sprln^^H themselveN, at the edKe of the tvooded moraine nitrth of the river liend.
Tbe Club ItaN ereeted a lodK'e here. 'I'liis \iev.' is from the summit of l.amhert l>4»me.

which was preempted by John Baptist Lembert, a stockman, in 1885, be-
fore the creation of the National Park. The tract embraces several fine
mineral springs, and with one exception is the only private holding in the
eastern section of the Park. The land is part meadow and part hillside

facing the moun-
tains on the south.
Its central location,
with the Tioga road
running south and
east, and trails radi-
ating to all parts of
the Tuolumne wa-
tershed, makes it
the natural starting
point, either for
mountain climbing,
or for exploration
of Tuolumne Caiion
and the alluring re-
gion north of it.

The AVhIte < as<;i<li-. in I noliiiii iic Itini al I oiiiiess ( :rik ll.-isin. °

All of the Tnoli le's aneient eataraels have eut through r rom it OnC gOCS

their plaeier steps anil l»e4*oiiie caseades. >laiiy <)f these. • . 1 J* «.

like the one in vle«. are of (jreat heiuht anil splendor. With CCJUal UireCt-

TUOLUMNE GRAND CANON AND HETCH HETCHV

141

ness across the passes to Mono
Lake or west to Hetch Hetchy.

Many times in its history, at in-
tervals of a few years, the Club has
found Tuolumne Meadows a con-
venient and delightful base for sum-
mer explorations; and here, on the
one hundred and sixty acres which
good fortune enabled it to acquire,
it has now erected its High Sierra
headquarters. This structure, ad-
mirably planned to fit into the
upland scene, and built of rough
stones from the moraine on which
it stands, is named "Parsons Me-
morial Lodge," in honor of the late
Edward T. Parsons, long a direc-
tor of the society, and one of its
most active mountaineers. With
an established mountain home, the
Club returns more frequently than
ever to the Meadows as a climbing
center, and, save for its trips into
the Southern Sierra, is likely to find hereabout enough climbing of varying
difficulty, to occupy most of its members on most of its summer expeditions
for years to come.

It is only a day's good walk from Soda Springs to the summit of
Mt. Dana and back. The Tioga Road and Dana Fork are followed to
the foot of the mountain, whence the trail climbs the pass between Dana
and Gibbs. The ascent from the saddle is short and easy. The summit
of Dana commands a view of more snow-peaks, probably, than one can
see with so little labor anywhere else on the continent, while a mile down
on the east side lie Mono Lake, rimmed with fine mountains, and, south of

it, a gray and grim line of volcanic
peaks.

From the Dana-Gibbs saddle
one July day, — the only stormy day
of that Sierra Club outing, — I be-
held a scene not soon to be forgot-
ten. In Tuolumne Meadows, west-
ward, it was raining lightly; but be-
low us, on the east, a wild thunder-
storm swept the Mono Lake basin
^. ^ with lightning and rain. All the

Cookstoves on Ibr niuroli. l':irl ..I ili<. Sierrn 1-1 l rn J

cinb'.s commissary in motion. great amphitheater seemed filled

Glen Aulin anil \\ iidfat I'liint. near the upper
end of Tu4tluiiine Grand I'niion.

.I'^^Il^^^Wf'

m^-^i

mmx:

-m^.^.

loluniiip FnIK, nt (he llenil of the Ornrul 1'nnoii of the Tuolumne: — lirst and mo.st Ini-
l>i>rtnnt of the 4>ii.s4-:ideN by nhieh this ntihly turbulent rii er, droiipin;; r>.0()0 feet In
twenty-live inileM, eoines tu the (|uiet uuters jind t\ild Kairden>» of lleleh lletchy.

Grand Canon of the Tuolumne, seen from Its north «all. liM»k.iit»4 ai'r«».sM t<» ifae 4lfe|>l>
eroded side of FalU Ridj^e. This vast cutting by glacier an<l stream extends from Tuol-
uuine Meadows to Hetch Hetcby, twenty-five miles in length and from 3.000 feet to a
mile in depth.

144

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Lo Coiite Falls, on the Tiioltitilne al>i>\t* (he \\ iiler^vheels.

with the black, solid
mass of the tempest;
but as flash upon
flash pierced the
darkness, we saw,
^^^^ \ivid as day, the
[ ' ^1 ^^i^^^^^^l breakers beating the

shore of the lake,
and the trees upon
the islands that dot
its breast. While
this storm blackened
the Mono basin at
our feet, beyond
stretching far into Nevada, range after range rolled away, waves of a sea
of mountains, flashing in the same sunshine that bathed our lofty outlook.
Other peaks are reached from the Tuolumne base with almost equal
ease. The trail to Mt. Lyell and its neighbors follows up Lyell Fork,
and unfolds a succession of splendid mountain pictures. In other direc-
tions, trails lead north to Conness Mountain, remarkable for the sheer
walls of great glacial head-basins, and to beautiful Matterhorn Caiion and
the Benson Pass country. Those who like still harder climbing may go
with the Tuolumne down the whole length of its rough canon to Hetch
Hetchy. The Sierra Club parties commonly divide, part taking the trail
across the uplands, the rest choosing the
pathless river gorge. The former route
offers the inspiration of wide views from
the heights; the latter, the zest of a long
scramble across huge boulders and pol-
ished benches, around frequent cascades,
and over the walls of such impassable
box-canons as Mulr Gorge. The canon of
the Tuolumne is one of the deepest and
wildest glacier-troughs in the world. Its
walls rise to heights of a mile above the
mad ri\er, with constantly changing inter-
est in their sculpture.

The waterfalls of the Tuolumne are
nowhere comparable in altitude with Ver-
nal or Nevada Falls; almost invariably
the erosion of their granite glacier-steps
has con\erted them from straight cataracts
into broken, gliding cascades; but they
have the fascination of infinite \'ariety and
the impressive power of repetition, while

t'atheilnil Creek l''nllN, (he tine ens-
eacle hy ivhieli ('ii(heflral C'reeic
flropN tn(i» 'ruolniniie Cnntin.

TUOLUMNE GRAND CANON AND HETCH HETCHY

145

C alil'i>riiia Falls and I [iper A\ aterirheels.

their setting, at the

bottom of this truly

grand canon, is far

more stupendous

and wonderful than

that of the great

Merced cataracts.

For twenty-five miles

of cascades, rapids,

sheer falls of lesser

drop, and delight-
ful glacial tarns, the

wild river plunges

down a path so nar-
row and difficult

that to follow it two

or three miles is

sometimes a day's work for a party of experienced climbers. Even these

climb over and around Muir Gorge, rather than risk their lives in its

deep flume.

Camping at Conness Creek basin, below the splendid Tuolumne Falls,

and at the foot of the noble White Cas-
cade, most of the Sierra Club party, one
July before the present trail was made,
went down the caiion as far as the Water-
wheel Falls. It was a surprising and I
dare say almost unique scene that rewarded
the hard tramp over rough earthquake
talus and through the dense chaparral.
These veritable "waterwheels" are found
where the turbulent river, shooting down
smooth inclines at furious speed, drops in-
to spoon-shaped depressions caused by the
erosion of soft rock. The water is hurled
aloft, twenty to forty feet at different
stages of the stream, and the backward
action of the spray gives a good imitation
of a wheel revolving with great velocity.
Returning to Conness Creek, we took
the high trail, a day or two later, up the
fine Cold Creek Meadows, and across Vir-
ginia Caiion, thence climbing an unnamed

*'"?„"«";" "rl7^i'' 17opr„rMa;: P^ss to reach Miner Lake, and late in the

terhnrn Cafion. where there Is a jaftCmOOn dcSCCnded thrOUgh a nOtCWOrthv
remarkable forest of this most Ir riL 'ri *i ii

graceful of alpine trees. itorest ot ttic beautitul mountam hemlocks

146

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

Largest of the "AVaterwheels," Tuolumne Cauon.

to our night's camp in Matterhorn Caiion. Matterhorn Peals, and the
cafion are worth seeing, but the next day, after we had climbed the long
trough of Wilson Creek to Benson Pass, and then ascended the hills over-
looking the pass at an elevation of about 10,500 feet, a wonderful array of
mountains, cafions, valleys and lakes swept majestically from Conness on
the east around the circle to Rancheria Mountain and the blue deeps of
Tuolumne Canon in the southwest. Everywhere the vast amphitheater
told of its ancient inhabitants, the glaciers, now long vanished, but pro-
claimed in the clean-cut cirques, deep-set glacial lakes, and silvery water-
falls dropping from hanging valleys high on distant canon rims.

Descending from Benson Pass, the trail wound round Volunteer Peak,
past Smedberg Lake, and in the sunny afternoon brought us to camp on

Rodgers Lake, the queen of
all lakes on the north side
of the Park. Leaving this
camp the next morning,
abandoning the ilelightful
lake shore was a hard part-
ing. But the day brought
new wonders in the great
views it gave us of Tuol-
umne Canon, as the trail
oc '^■IH^HBB skirted its north wall. Camp

CoaKtinK on the folUhed liranite. n< (he W nler«vheels. at Ulgnt at rlCaSant Valley

■s >:

Si *•

a a

- e

c *•

Via

£■0

Ja?

= s

* X 3j

148

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

in Piute Caiion was followed by the long ascent of Rancheria Mountain,
the next day, through forests of red fir (J hies viagnifica) that were a joy
to see. These stately trees justify Chase's enthusiasm: "If I were called
upon to choose the one among the conifers that I would live and die by, I
should choose the red silver fir, with no fear of ever wearying of its sub-
lime companionship."

Reaching camp on Rancheria early in the afternoon, we had more
glimpses down into the Tuolumne abyss, and still more the following morn-

SiiiiNct on SnieflliiTK l<nke, one of the NiiurceN f>f Piute Creek, north of the Tuolumne.

ing, when the trail led us westward to Rancheria Creek. The descent into
its caiion brought us to its charming falls, and finally to the Mecca of our
pilgrimage, lovely, famous, changing Hetch Hetchy.

This book is not a brief for or against the San Francisco power and
water dam. Enough has already been said on both sides of that contro-
versy that were better left unsaid; and although I am heartily with those
who oppose the commercializing of any of our too few national parks, I
recognize that many conservative and disinterested Californians, both in
and out of San Francisco, hold that the conversion of Hetch Hetchy to the
city's use was necessary, and that it need not close the Tuolumne watershed,
or preclude the establishment of sanitary camps and hotels for visitors who
may wish to explore the Tuolumne highlands. The issue was fought in
good faith, and to a finish. Congress acted sincerely in the belief that

B —

a s

: !3

150

VOSEMITE AND ITS HICH SIERRA

the necessities of this case transcended the danger of a possibly troublesome
precedent. Its action, confirmed by court decisions and commercial set-
tlements, has closed the controversy so far as the public is concerned. It
remains for me only to point out that Hetch Hetchy is soon to become one
of America's finest lakes, and
that, in the change from a glori-
ous mountain Valley to a unique
mountain lake, some far-reach-
ing public benefits will result.
If there were no Yosemite,
Hetch Hetchy would doubtless
be the most celebrated Valley
in America. But it is mislead-

in the Heiirt of the Tuolumne (irand
t'nnon. Above, the Tuolnnine In ween
near its jtiiiftion ivllli t'athetlral
("reek. The louver vie«- >*ho\v.s the
entranee to ^luir (iorjie. Here the
ri^er eontraets to a raee-llke Ntreani.
Kri|»|iecl helween the sheer walls of
a Ikix eanon. ^vhieh is Inipa.ssnble
save at li»«est water. Kew have
e^er iiiaile the trip.

ing, though easy, to describe it
as merely a minor edition of the
more magnificent caiion. The resemblances, of course, are startling.
Sheer gray walls of granite, marked with "royal arches," crowned with
domes, and hung with splendid waterfalls, rim a similar level valley floor.
This records the filling of an ancient glacial lake, which is still more plainK
recalled in the high rock sill at its lower end (See page 154). Here the
Tuolunme, after flowing la/ily for three miles amidst meadows and the
charming forests which ha\e now been felled by the engineers, cut a narrow

152

YOSEMITE AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

box-canon, where now the San
Francisco dam is building.
Slowly passing this bar, the
stream at once resumed its role
as a caiion torrent, and bounded
wildly away to join the distant
San Joaquin. Thus the Valley
duplicated the glacial story of
\'osemite.

But Hetch Hetchy had, and
has, a character and atmosphere
all its own. Three hundred
feet lower in altitude than Yo-
semite, it is only half as long
and wide, with walls two-thirds
as high. The smaller caiion is
warmer, sunnier, more gra-
cious. Its beauty is less appall-
ing, and while the forests re-
mained, its charm was so much
more intimate that save for the
formal resemblance and con-
tiguity of the two Valleys, a
reader of mountain character
might never think to compare
the gentler graces of Hetch
Hetchy with the stupendous and

startling grandeurs of the more famous canon on the Merced.

The walls of Hetch Hetchy, imposing in their height and sculptured

forms, will make a very notable frame for the restored lake. Its two great

waterfalls, with the fine cascades in the branch canons of Rancheria and

Till-Till Creeks, so far as not buried by the 300-foot lake level, will always

be among the most beautiful in the Park. But the Valley floor, with all

its splendor of mountain

flowers and stately forests,

is gone forever. Utility

apart, and as a matter of

beauty, no lake can ever

take its place, or make up

the loss of such groves of

pines and oaks. Black oaks

dominated here, just as the

yellow pines are supreme

on the floor of Yosemite.

Ti, I I ,. * VVeliirhinK the llunnnffe. ThiM cereiiioiiy preoeileN each

aller than the live oaks, ilay-s mar.-Ii on n sierra <liil( outing.

Little Heteh Hetchy, ;i mile nliove the iiinin Val
ley; Kolann Ki^ek in the distance.

! 8 -

ziJU

" s - -

^ .10 0
-•3 -=^

*!":"'•

* S * 3*

= a " - 0

"' t - a

s . e

- i,

:J-l.^j&L

« » j-

- * f ^

' *~ J *

•= 0. =• * 5

L. E B ^

3^ 4; S b a

f " - o ~

^ -3 * - =
0) 0 « =

S 5S *

S a <> a a
ER 2 ■• 2

1 >- •■ "^ a
3 j< « * _"

■• s *^ *- '*

f K - a

=:■= s » b

I -■'si-
aria-

ai}-.2S
i; k e <a a

154

YOSEMITE AM) ITS HIGH SIERRA

with vast crowns of bright deciduous
foliage, they formed here the noblest
oak groves I have ever seen; and
many a lover of friendly trees who
happily knew Hetch Hetchy Valley
will be haunted by their ghosts as his
automobile speeds him past the level
waters of Hetch Hetchy Lake.

But those sentiments are no longer
relevant. For the future of Hetch
Hetchy is now inextricably linked with
that of San Francisco and its neigh-
bor towns of the Bay District. It has
become the guarantor of health and
prosperity to a community already
passing a million of population.

California began as a mountain
commonwealth, washing its first riches
from river gravels with water from
the Tuolumne, Merced and scores of
other streams. These streams yield
less gold dust to-day, but greater
wealth. Water itself is now the chief
gold of California — water for health-
ful li\ing, for irrigation, manufac-
tures, power.

When Congress, acting disinterest-
edly for what it deemed the good of California, authorized San Francisco
to impound the flood waters wasting from 650 square miles in the Tuol-
umne, Lake F^leanor and Cherry Creek watersheds, it endowed the city
with perpetual wealth beyond all the Tuolumne country had yielded to
its goldseekers.

New York City is spending $162,000,000 to add 500,000,000 gallons
a day to its water supply
without getting a single can-
dle-power of electric energy.
Los Angeles, for $30,000,-
000, has providently made
sure of 260,000,000 gallons
per diem from Owens river,
and expects an electrical de-
velopment of 49,000 horse-
power. Changes in the
prices of labor and materials
since San Francisco voted

Suiiri.se In Hetch Helrhy

A \oliil>l<-

Mit I nitanieil I. like In l'Mennt>r C'lifinn above
l.nke ICIeanor.

TUOLUMNE GRAND CANON AND HETCH HETCIIY

155

its $45,000,000 of 4^2 per cent bonds in 1910 may increase the cost of the
Hetch Hetchy-Lake Eleanor project by fifty per cent. Even so, San Fran-
cisco's investment will be the best of the three. For the engineers have
calculated that it will not only add 400,000,000 gallons daily to the city's
present water supply — a generous per capita allowance of 100 gallons a

Hetrhy Hetoliy Gorjte. Here is seen the roek sill telling of the Valley's history as a
fliled-nii glaoial lake. In this gullet, twenty yards ivide, the San Franeisro engineers,
under authority of (onBress, are building a 300-foot dam, nhich ivill oreate a lake
seven miles long, impounding 112,000,000,000 gallons of the Tuolumne's snow wr.ters,
now wasted in spring floods. This will add 400.000,000 gallons daily to the water
supply of the San Franolseo flay Distriet, In bringing it to sea-level, an eleetrio devel-
opment ultimately totaling 200,000 horse-p(»wer is promised.

day for a future metropolitan district of 4,000,000 inhabitants — but will
develop 250,000 horse-power of hydro-electric current.

In a word, the return from the city's outlay should, after redeeming
the bonds, greatly reduce taxes, while providing water and power at low
prices for the entire municipal, industrial and domestic needs of the Bay
section for generations to come.

Any account of the wider Yosemite that is fast coming into public
use must make note of the opening of San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy rail-
road, sixty-eight miles along the Tuolumne. This for the first time fur-
nishes direct access to Hetch Hetchy Valley, and a base for exploring the
wild mountain and lake region north and east of it, stretching from the
Lake Eleanor headwaters to Tuolumne Grand Caiion. Many visitors
may be expected to enter the Park by this railway, visiting Hetch Hetchy,

156

YOSEMITE AND ITS llKill SIKRKA

Lnke lOlennor. five miles north^v«-'«( of llcti-h lleti'hy. This heaiilif iil iiiuuntnin-wiille*!
Inke, enlarged by n dam nt its outlet, Im now a part of the San Franeiseo water NyNtem.

and thence journeying across the hills by auto-stage from Mather Station,
via the Tuolumne Big Tree Grove, to Yosemite Valley. The trip is full
of scenic and historical interest. For the lower Tuolumne Canon is all
"Bret Harte country"; the "bars" and "flats" along the river still bear
the names given them by the old Argonauts who worked them for their

"dust," and Groveland
furnished the original
of "Tennessee's Part-

Next to the Hetch
Hetchy Railroad, the
most important step in
opening the Tuolumne
below Soda Springs for
\isitors is the new trail
now to be completed
from Harden Lake to
Pate Valley. It will be
one of the most popu-
lar trails in the Park,
leading down to the
very heart of the Tu-
olumne Grand Canon.

''l^e-l''iiiKer I'^jill.s, In Uanrlteria ("reek.

Iet4'h llet,*hy.

i i i

- '■^

- • i

= «i

i s ^

- s J.

i s J

* •* s

* ^ a

■=5

2 '
i *

» 0

5 *
s

s
s ■-

3 .

e j<

s =>
* a<

— P>

i5o

2r.S

• * Ml

: J 8

« B

" s

1-3 4,

. S 0

s «*

•3 £

-: 5 0

X !!

. 3 ^

' '^■3

s ?

J s -

. St-

i «i s

' -I

1 I M

■3 £ *
r * i

0 - -

"■is

S " a

1 t! «
B : «

The **^IeK|iil«-> .*• iMit* of lli*- iiuix>i \ tl.i imxleltMl Oifs; Treej* in the >luri|K»s:i Grove. This lilant
Sequoia is rredileil (»tlM>ially ivlth ii rireii inference of seventy feet at the ground, and a
diameter of -2.:t feet. \t ten feet up. these diinenNii>nN nre a thiril lewH; but above its
biilKinu base the Sequoia's etiliininar bole tapers slo^vly up to its eonipaet eroivn.

Cavalrymen at the Cabin in >lari|io.sa <;r*>ve. For many years the NutitMiiil I 'ark ^vas
policed by a cletail of Vnited Stutes ea^ airy, and its Superintendent was an Army
olttoer. This system, however, was changed by the last Feileral ailministratlon to one
of civilian supervision.

KINGS OF THE FOREST

Poems are made by fools like me.
But only God can mnke a tree.

— Joyce Kilmer: "Trees."

In terraced emerald they stand
Against the sky,
Each elder tree a king
Whose fame the wordless billows magnify.
— George Sterling: "An Attar of the West.'

|HE crowning glory of the Yosemite country is its forests. Every-
where below timber-line, these boldly make themseUes a factor
in the mountain scene, and always they render to it an invaluable
service, both of beauty and of utility. On the farthest ridges,
they climb to inaccessible heights, and up to the very limits of plant life
are found struggling to conceal the glacial scars, soften the bleakness of
moraine and caiion, and decorate the barest granite benches with tough,
adventurous pines and junipers. Covering valley and mountain-side alike
with their protecting coat of rich green verdure, they shelter the snows and
maintain the mountain springs. Thus, both directly and indirectly, they
work incessantly to beautify the High Sierra, while, by preserving the head-
fountains of river supply, they make possible the agriculture of the lands
below.

The Yosemite forests are mainly composed of only a few great
species. Commercially, they are almost wholly made up of conifers, the

160

YOSEMITE AM) ITS HIGH SIERRA

oaks, maples and other hard-
wood trees occupying a wholly
secondary place in the vast
army of tree life. Foremost
among the cone-bearers in ex-
tent and commercial importance
stand the pines, with the grand
Sugar Pine ( Pintu lambcrti-
ana), noblest of all the tribe,
and its ubiquitous rival. West-
ern Yellow Pine ( P'niiis ponde-
rosa), and the latter's hardy
first-cousin, Jeffrey Pine {Pinits
jeffreyi), far in the lead. Ex-
tending the broad province of
the pines upwards into the sub-
alpine belt, and often far to-
wards timber-line, the Lodge-
pole Pine (Piiitis contorla) ,
here commonly called Tama-
rack, undertakes the homely
office of covering the wildest
moraines and windiest ridges
with forest life and something
of forest charm. Two of the
great family of the firs range

from the upper edge of the Yellow Pine belt to the middle Tamarack zone.

These are the White Fir {Abies concolor) antl Red or "Sil\er"' Fir (Abies

SuKlir I'in** < IMiiii.s l:iiiilK*rli:iiiii ). loadcil Willi
€M»lirN. 'I'liiN Ircr. kiiiK of nil llie pjiicN. In niitoil
for ilN lliii' I'oiie.s, ttvelve lo liveiily iiiflicf, lonfji'.

The "Falli'ii >loiiar<'li,*' ^vilh tri»o|i of I'lt^tllry. This K'reat Secilloia, nht'ii NlJindllif!^. wax
our of till* InrueNi in the >larl|>ONn iirove.

D.s5g

k.jS a! 0

f, -H a V

162

VOSEMITK AND ITS HIGH SIERRA

A Tliiek Sfnnil of JelTrey nnd VuunK YeIlo*¥ Pine. The uilult trees in f<»rt'Krouiiil are
JelVrey Fines, easily l^no^-n by the dee|i lissurin^; nnd Irre^iiliir ridures iif (lieir dnrit
refl-l>roivn hiirlt. and its riil^'es irre;:;ularly eonnected. tMtntrastine' tvitti the l»rt>ad,
sliield-lilie plates In tlie russet-red hark of mature Yellow I'ines < See pp. .%- nnd l«t;l».
Tiiis interesting:^ pieture illustrates the open character 4»f the Sierran forest, ivhere one
may often wander at will, ivith a compass for his only Kuide.

niacfiiifica) , both of them splendid members of the clan. Less numerous
than these, but still a familiar inhabitant of fertile \alleys and watered
ridges, in the lower third of Yosemite Park, is the Incense Cedar [Liho-

tedriis (Iccurroii ) , always an inter-
esting and beautiful tree, with bark
and foliage, and often with a crown,
suggesting somewhat distant kinship
with the greatest of all conifers, the
Sequoia.

The Yosemite National Park
contains three groves of Sequoia gi-
c/aiili-a, which botanists now agree
in calling, with specific reference to
Its pre-eminence among the world's
•.permoi > a I ion.Mvs (r.-ck. sllva, "Big Trec." Thcse groves

KINGS OF THE FOREST

163

naturally form the climax of
the Yosemite forests, as the
tree itself represents the climax
of all plant life. Two of them,
the Merced and Tuolumne
Groves, on the west border of
the Park, contain from thirty
to forty mature trees each,
some of them magnificent rep-
resentatives of their kind. But
the Mariposa Grove, on the
south side of the Park, and
reached via Wawona, is one of
the largest and most important
areas of Sequoias which are
found in the central Sierra, and
are termed "groves" by way of
distinguishing them from the
vast Sequoia "forests" of the
southern slopes of the range.

The Yosemite forest, of
course, forms a mere fraction
in the great blanket of tree life
which clothes the western slope
of the Sierra Nevada Range.
This vast woodland is about five
hundred miles long and from
twenty to thirty miles in width.
Predominantly a pine forest, it
locks hands, at the Siskiyous, with the broader zone of Douglas Hr, which
sweeps up the coast, through western Oregon, Washington and British
Columbia, to the very edge of the Alaskan glaciers. But colossal as is the
northwestern fir forest, holding in Washington and Oregon a full third
of all the standing timber now left in the United States, yet the mid-Sierra
belt of pines and firs embraces not only the most noteworthy trees for size
and age which any country can claim, but also the finest open forests and
the largest variety of conifers. The grandest of these cone-bearers, and
therefore the world's noblest tree, the Sequoia, is found nowhere else.

When an observant lover of trees crosses this California forest, tra-
versing the very gradual west slope of the Sierra from the comparatively
barren foothill belt of digger pine and poison oak up clear to the timber-
line beneath the snowfields, he discovers that the forest he has seen divides
itself with some distinctness into belts or zones, corresponding, though with
many variations, to the parallels of elevation shown by the contour lines
of a topographic map. The variations, he learns with a little study, are

Sii^^ar I'ines and 'bellow Pine, .sho^vin^ the lar^-e
flat plates in the hark of the mature Yellow
I*lne eontrasteil with tlie .smaller anil .shal-
lt»>ver convolution!-! in the hark of the other
trees.

164

YOSEMITK AND MS II1(;H SIKRRA

1 largely caused by ditierences
in the character of the
yrouini. Does it slope to
the north or to the south?
Is it k\cl land, well planted
with soil and well watered
by streams, or rocky hill-
side, holding little of the
melted snows? But in gen-
eral the \ital factor in de-
termining tree species, is
temperature. Trees that
l()\e the hot, dry lowlands
not only shun the region of
long winters and heavy
snows, but they seldom in-
\ade the median zones of
moderate temperature and
precipitation. On the other
hand, some trees prefer the
colder levels. "Often," says
I'rof. Hall, "the line be-
tween two belts is as sharp
as though cut with a knife;
again the belts overlap and
intermingle in so confusing
jeirre, i-m.-s. in the i..y„ K.,r.,t. e=.». of Y..s,.,ni..- ^ manner that even the ex-

I'ark. Th«- ailiill tree K.-en here Is one of Ihe pert is bafHed in an attempt
IliTne-s* speeiinens, helnp: about ten feet in (liaineter J* ' * U U '^ D

ami 2(10 ft. hiKh. 'I'his tree fre<|iientN liare firanite tO dlStmgUlSh them. DUt

slopes an.l the tops of ^ oseo.i.e .ioo.es. ,vhere it j,^ general it is UOt difficult

to discern the broad boun-
daries which climate and
rainfall have set for the several species. These establish type.

If there were an ele\ation midway the western slope of the Sierra
and high enough to command the whole of the Yosemite National Park,
any one who climbed to its summit might, with the aid of a powerful field-
glass, see spread out below^ him a series of forest belts, running north and
south, and distinguishable by the foliage of their dominant trees. On the
east, the farthest strip would be a thin cover of alpine forest, mainly com-
posed of gav white-bark pine (Piiiiis alhuaulis) and somber mountain
hemlock (Tsuga iiicrlcnsiana) . These two species alone inhabit the
upper edge of their zone, dwarfed and pathetic forest outposts, no longer
bearing the true form of trees, but starxed by the cold, short season, and op-
pressed by the deep snow of long winters, until they are mere dense mats of
tough, sprawling branches, on top of which even a horse could pick his

often assumes (iw.'irfeii anil fniitjistit* forms; l>iit
uniler favornitie eonilitioiis it nttalns n sliapeiy ami
mastiii^e K'rowth.

An A^ed Juniper, inhabiting o moraine 4»n trail fr(»ni Tuolumne lleiidoiVN to Conne.sN
Creek. Tfiis pietureN<|ue and hardy tree, e<»iiiiiionly l^no^vn as AA'estern or Sierra
Juniper, in believed to outlive all its eon temporaries save only the Sequoia.

166

YOSEMITIC AND ITS MICH SIERRA

Steps. Such is the
timber Hne in the
Sierra, at an eleva-
tion reaching well
above 10,000 feet.
But the lower bor-
der of this alpine
belt, a thousand feet
below, shows quite
a different forest.
Here the pines am]
hemlocks take cour-
age from the less
austere climate to
stand erect. They
gather in their first
groups, along the
little avalanche
meadows, and offer
shelter at their feet
to some bright, in-
trepid flowers. This
is the upward limit
of the mountain
"parks," where cal-
ochortus, cassiope
and erythronium
shoulder aside the
loitering snow-crusts, in order that they may lose none of the too short
summer. And hither come stragglers from the next tree zone, stray mem-
bers of the far-spread lodgepole pine tribe (Pinus contorta) , with occa-
sional supporters of western white pine (Piiiiis monticnla) , foretelling the
better covered areas of their own belt, the zone of the lodgepole or tama-
rack pine. This great tamarack zone shows many spaces occupied by
Jeffrey pines, hemlocks and red firs. It is the first of the commercial
forest, and, outside the Park, is beginning to contribute substantially to
the necessary timber supply of the country. Below the tamarack forest
we should see the great zone of the firs, red and then white, with sugar
pines largely intermingled; and farther on to the west, the still more im-
portant yellow-pine zone, extending down to and even beyond the boundary
of the Park.

Now, of course, there is no such commanding peak; but we are aidetl
in imagining what we should see, if there were, by the views we obtain
from such actual summits as overlook parts of the great Yosemite forest.
Several of our illustrations in this volume tell us much. For example,

Asprn l'\»rf.st iit l.jik** >lt*roed. 'I'hr larm* Iriiiik lit the rl^ht
nIioivs sfrnti'lifs from Ihe films of imtiintiiiii liitiis. Yvlil<'h
flfli^ht in rliitibinvr those trefs. The Aspen (I'oplilus treniu-
loidest is the iii<»st Yviilely ilistriituteii of Aiiierienn trees,
nin^fin;; from tlie \r4*tie firele to Mexiro; and -with the
lllaek Wiiltiw (Saiix ni^r.'it it iiionop4>li/.es the dtstinetion
of heinff eoinnion to both the Atluntie and the l*aelfio Coast.

KINGS OF THE FOREST

167

arp:e.st I^od^'epole or Tainnra<*k I'ine in tlle I iiiteii
States, found In the Sierra \'ati(»nai Forest just
south of A oseinlte P:irlc. This exceptional tree
measured six feet in diameter and l.'i^ ft. hi^h, eai'h
dimension l>einK: dolilile that of the norinai type.

the remarkable pictures on
pages 29 and 115 give us
the story of the extreme al-
pine belt. In the former is
shown Cathedral Peak Pla-
teau, approximately 10,000
feet, and deeply covered
with snow till mid- July. It
is obvious that the forest
here is fighting odds too
heavy to enable it to form
a real cover for the barren
waste, which only recently,
in geological terms, was
abandoned by the glaciers.
The second picture even
more graphically tells the
unequal struggle of the
forest to push its advance
guard up the long ridges of
the Mt. Clark group, to the
utmost limit of tree life.

But turn now to the illus-
tration on page 20, show-
ing what one may see from
the top of Lambert Dome
(9,400 ft.), in Tuolumne
Meadows. Eastward, the
\iew stretches from levels
of less than 9,000 feet up to
the snowy summits of the
range. The forest below
the spectator, as those who
have explored the Meadows
will recall, is mainly of
lodgepole pine; and this
tree predominates until,
after covering the lower
slopes of Dana, Gibbs and
Mammoth, it at last finds
the frost above 10,500 feet
too constant even for its
hardy constitution, and
therefore yields the frozen
ground to dwarf-pine and

168

VOSEMITE AND ITS IlICIl SIERRA

alpine hemlock. Other illustra-
tions confirm the story. i"or
example, on page 27, the ris-
ing slope of Dana Mountain
above Tioga Lake {9.700 ft.),
is seen scantily decked with the
same trees, which send up their
prostrate outposts almost to the
rim of the dying glacier.

But leaving these spectacles
of Nature's struggle to beau-
tify the alpine wastes, we must
glance for a moment at the
principal trees which constitute
the main forest of Yosemite
Park, — the trees which, outside
the Park, furnish the bulk of the
commercial timber of Califor-
nia. These we characterize in
the order of our meeting them
as we descend from the High
Sierra to Yosemite Valley:

Loiigepole pine, the "tamarack" of
the Sierra, called by some botanists
Piniis lontorta mnrrayana, to distin-
guish it from the scrub-pine (P. con-
torta) of the coast. Grows in dense
stands as a straight slim tree, which
furnished the Indians' tent-poles, hence
the name. Height, 50 to 100 ft., though
the exceptional tree shown on p. 167 measured 150 ft. Most widespread of the pines, ranging
from the Rocky mountains to tidewater on the Pacific, and from the Yukon to Lower Cali-
fornia. Forms many fine homogeneous forests in Yosemite Park, at from 8,000 to 10,000 ft. (as
in upper Tuolumne Meadows, on west slopes of Mts. Dana, Gibbs and Mammoth, and on
Forsyth Pass). Easily recognized by its yellow-green foliage, arranged in "foxtail" tufts,
the short needles growing in pairs; by its thin, scaly, grayish-brown bark, very resinous, and
therefore giving the tree no fire protection; and finally by its small cones, which, when dry,
cover the ground with thousands of little squat, pagoda-shaped burs, but which commonly
remain closed on the trees for years, and are capable of resisting fire, thus insuring repro-
duction of the species in districts burnt over. Of future importance commercially.

Western white pine, the chief timber tree of Idaho and other parts of the Northwestern
interior. Range within Yosemite Park, 6,000 to 10,000 ft., the finest examples appearing near
the upper edge of its zone. Height, 100 to 150 ft. Bark, cinnamon-brown; checked in small
squarish plates. Leaves in 5s, 2 to 4 inches long, blue-green. Cones 5 to 10 inches long,
commonly curved; otherwise like sugar-pine cones, but much smaller. Timber almost as
valuable as that of sugar pine.

The firs, red and white. Red fir named from its thick, deeply checkeil bark, which on
older trees is dark purplish-red. Mature foliage dark green, but new growth light, silvery
green, giving the tree its other popular name, "silver fir." Well deserves its botanical name,
"magnificent fir," its compact, spire-like crown rising to 175 or even 200 feet, and making it
one of the handsomest trees in the Sierran forests, where it attains its greatest perfection.
Forms occasional pure stands, as on Rancheria Mountain, in the Yosemite Park, though more
commonly appearing with white fir, sugar pine and the Sequoia. Range, from 7,000 to 9,000

lll:ii-k Oiiks

''erii.s on A'ulley Flour.

KINGS OF THE FOREST

169

ft., or even higher. Distinguishable
from white fir by its larger cones,
5 to 8 inches, borne upright on the
top branches, as well as by its
bark. White fir gets its name from
the whitish bark of young trees anil
the corky-gray bark of adults, the
latter being much and irregularly
roughened. Its cones are 3 to 5 in.
long. Otherwise, it closely resem-
bles its relative, though it is less
stately in size, and its range does
not extend beyond the 8,0110 foot
level.

Sugar pine {Pinits liirnhfrtumd) ,
the most splendid of all white pines,
and one of the most important
trees, commercially, of the Sierra,
which is its chief habitat. Note-
worthy for its tall, straight stems,
reaching 225 feet in height and 10
feet, occasionally more, in diam-
eter. Easily distinguished from the
familiar yellow pines by its foliage
of darker green, its broader crown,
which commonly throws out a few
irregular branches far beyond the
others, by its needles arranged in
Ss, from 3 to 4 inches long, by its
narrowly-furrowed reddish -brown
bark, and by its remarkable cones,
the largest on any tree, 12 to 24
inches in length, and hanging by
short stems from the long upper
branches. Popular name due to
the white sugar exuding from anv
wound in the heartwood. Range
3,000 to 7,500 ft. Timber of great
commercial value.

Western yellow pine {Pinus
ponderosa) and its kin, Jeffrey pine
(Pinus ponderosa var. Jeffrey!) .
Most abundant and useful of the
3-needle, or yellow pines, the for-
mer not merely outranking in num-
ber and yield all other timber trees
of California, where, in the Sierra,
it achieves its greatest perfection,
but having a wider dispersion and
adapting itself to a greater di-
versity of soil and climate than any
other American timber factor. A
tree of great distinction, often 5 to
10 ft. in diameter, with a straight trunk rising 175 to 200 ft. and a columnar crown of bright
yellowish-green foliage, made up of needles 5 to 11 in. long, set in 3s and combined in great
plumes, which distinguish this tree from all other conifers. Bark a grayish-brown, divided
on adult trees by deep furrows into great plates, often 3 or 4 feet long and nearly a foot
wide. Cones 3 to 5 in. long. Range, 2,000 to 6,000 ft. in the Yosemite Park, where it is the
predominant tree on Yosemite Valley floor, and adds much to its beauty. Jeffrey pine has
less height, a stockier trunk, broader crown, shorter needles of dark blue-green, and a range

A Heaiitiflll (-rttup of Red Fir, one 4»f the iittlileNt mein-
l>er.«i of the grreat family of llr.s.

DiaiiiitiKr' (•r4iii|i, in '\lnripiisa <ir4>\'e. Sucli tine .si'iilptiiriii;^ of the tiiit'k fihrixiN reel linrk

hiiiidrcd feet or iiiorr to their tlr.st linih.

iinkes theNe ureHt Se<|iioia trunks, often ri.sinK'

iful til an llie tlnfeil eo in inns of a tareek teiu|>le.

in(»re heaiit

Giant Sequoias at the Cabin in >laripo.s:i Grove.

172

VOSKMITK AND IIS IIICH SIl.kKA

exteiuling to 7,50(1 or 8,000 ft. Instead of seeking fertile watered valleys, it frequents barren
ridges and summits of Vosemite domes, but under favorable conditions attains splendiit sym-
metrical proportions. Covers large areas on upper edge of the yellow-pine belt.

Incense cedar {l.ihocedrus decurrens), last of the important trees contributing largely to
the Vosemite forest. Common on the floor of Vosemite Valley. ,\ handsome tree, seldom over
100 ft. high, but raising a broadly pyramidal crown of brilliant green on a conical trunk
which is beautifully fluted in long plates of cinnamon-red-. bark, slightlv graver than that of
the Sequoia. Seldom growing in pure, stands, it is found almost evervwhere within the
3,000-7,000 ft. zone mingling with the other conifers and adding color and beauty to the
forest. Timber very durable and valuable.

'I'he "(■overiior 'I'oil*' <*rou|». onr of the tilu'.Ht fMiiiiliniiif .s «»f (iinnt Se«|ii<>i:iN in the

>l:irl|»<»Nn *ir<»\e.

Other contributors to the Vosemite forest picture, though numerous,
are limited in their spread, and, save only the Big Tree, of less interest
than the great forest-makers which I ha\'e thus briefly described. Doug-
las tir {Psfudutsuya la.xifo/ia) , sometimes called Douglas spruce, but in
truth neither spruce nor iir, but a false hemlock, is the supreme forest
figure on the North Coast. Here it is of smaller size and forms no large
stands. In Yosemite Valley, it courts the damp shade of the south wall;
on the plateau above, it is found at Nevada Fall, Glacier Point, sporad-
ically on the Wawona and Chinquapin Roads, and among the Tuolumne
Sequoias. But it nowhere attempts to repeat its Northwestern supremacy.

KINGS OF THE FOREST

173

The oaks of Yosemite and similar
valleys and canons in the mid-Sierra
have importance locally as factors in
the landscape, but no timber value. Of
these there are two. The intimate and
highly decorative tree common on the
rich valley bottoms is the broad-top,
large-leaf deciduous species variously
called Kellogg oak and California
black oak {Ouerciis kclloggii, Oiicrctts
Calif ornha). Its favorite belt lies
just below that of the yellow pine;
hence, while the pines outnumber the
oaks in Yosemite the reverse was
true at the lower elevation of Hetch
Hetchy, before the trees were cut there
in preparation for the San Francisco
dam. The acorns from these oaks fur-
nished the Indians with their meal for
bread-making, and are stored by the
woodpeckers for the winter food-sup-
ply. By an inexplicable error, how-
ever, Mr. Muir {Yosemite, p. 89),
though he knew Yosemite better than
most of us can ever hope to know it,
ascribed this beneficence to the Cali-
fornia live oak (Ouercns ac/rifolia) , a
coastal oak which appears nowhere in
the Park.

But Yosemite Valley owes the deco-
ration of its walls chiefly to another
live oak, the canon oak, or maul oak
{Ouercns ehrysolepsis) , perhaps best
described by its other popular name,
"golden-cup oak," given in recognition
of the big turban-like cups that hold
the tree's acorns, and late in summer
are covered with a brilliant yellow
down, seen afar. This tree never ap-
pears on rich valley floors, but covers
the talus slopes with grateful verdure,
and is common on dry high-line trails.

Western juniper {juniper occiden-
talis), familiar to all who travel to Merced or Tenaya Lake, is one of the
most variable and picturesque of the sub-alpine trees in the Park. Its

he **<ieiieral Slieriiiaii,*' lar^e.st »»f nil
trees, aiul monarch of the (^iant For-
est in Setinitia \:itionnl Park. Its di-
an»eter 4if ;{4 l/;S feet at its hase is a
foot less than t]i:it of the "<>eneral
tirnnt,'* l»lit twelve feet :il>4>ve ground
it is 117. ."» feet.

174

YOSEMITF. AND ITS HIGH SIF.RRA

largest growth, indeed, is
attained in the Sierra ; hence
it is also called "Sierra
juniper." Usually short
and stumpy, it may rise to
a height of fifty or sixty
feet, or, on wind-swept
ridges, it may exhibit mere-
ly a twisted, split, and mis-
shapen stalk, topped with a
grotesque crown. In the
Yosemite Park, this juniper
ranges to 10,000 feet or
more, but is commonest on
the benches of canon walls,
and at tops of cliffs. Nota-
ble junipers are to be found
at the summit of Yosemite
Point, and above Xevaila
Fall. At such low altitudes
its stocky trunk often grows,
in the centuries of its long
life, to a thickness of five or
six feet, and its flattened
crown may be broader than
the tree's total height.

I have left myself too
little space to speak in de-
tail of the noblest and most
famous of all trees; but this
default is the less serious in
view of the full and accu-
rate descriptions of the Se-
quoia now e\erywhere ac-
cessible, and will, I hope, be
atoned for by the many pic-
tures of typical Big Trees
here shown. "By well-nigh
universal consent," says
Prof. Jepson, "Sequoia yi-
yautea is regarded as the
most remarkable member of the earth's silva. Its great age, its enormous
bulk, its restricted habitat, its somewhat precarious biological foothold in
the northerly part of its range, and its plain relationship with the dominant
types of the Miocene flora, combine to gwe the species a unique interest."

(■eiierni (iriiiit." olif 4>f lllc t'tilir l:ir;;i-st :iii<l most
filiii«>lis <ii:iiit S<'i|iioi]is. Hs (lijiiiictrr iit li:i.se is :t.-.7.'
fi'ff, lillil nt (\vt*l\»' feet lip is 'l'.\ fe€'t. This is the
ehief attr:ielion of the tJeneral t>rant Xntiiinal I'ark.

4 oniciiiporar.t ot \ojili. I li*' t:inu>iis "Grizzly (iinnt." pnt riareb of the >liiriposa 4; rove.
has watehed the eareer of man upon the earth prohnl>ly fi)r forty centuries. It is one
of a few trees found in the several (troves that are lielieved to he survivors of a former
generation <»f Sequoias. — douhtless the oldest of all living: thinK's. This venerable Bip:
Tree is thirty feet in diameter; its larj^est limb is six feet thieli^. Its helfi^ht. -4>4 feet,
however, is less than that of ninny youne:er trees, the storms harlnjj; destroyed much
of its erown. It shows few sijB;ns of senility, and may yet live many centuries.

176

VOSEMITE AND US IlKill SIKRRA

' \ hihniiiii,** in the >ltiri|ioN:i Tirovc. Its
\irKiii 4'r4»Yvii, Nh:i|»(*«l like iin jirrow-
hejHl. iitr.H itet'ii ex4'e|iti<»nni in lliii.s far
eKoniiiiiK' ilniiiaK'f l»y .sturm.

\\ (Hilii \(>u know what the famous
Big Tree really is, how it outlives all
its forest comrades, enduring by the
pluck that meets calamity with a laugh?
A volume of botanical data would tell
less of its habits, its virility, than one
may learn by seeing a single example of
Sequoia well-doing. Let us visit the
little Tuolumne Grove, on the west
boundary of the Park. This contains
only thirty trees, among them some of
colossal size and perfect proportion.
But we have come to see a burnt and
shattered stump that sets forth the vir-
tues of its clan more bravely than any
of its comelier
peers. It is the
so-called "King
of the Forest."

Among my
boyhood friends
was a worthy but
broken old man.
In earlier years
he had served
his community
well. Ihen mis-
fortune and ill
health dealt him
a cruel slap, and
his kindly heart
took on a veneer
of eccentricity.
He became a vil-
lage"character.'"
His neighbors,
io\-ing him but
knowing the
tuist, put him
gcnth' by as a
negligible "back
number." But
when a test came
that tried the

V Typicjii Keil Fir, on
soul ()t our town, Uancheria Mounlnln.

KINGS OF THE FOREST

177

it was "Old Ben," the su-
perannuate, whose fiber and
courage saved the day.

The forest life, too, has
its crises; it provides tests
of the hardest. And as
human wrecks often regain
their footing and make
good, so a tree that by all
signs is down and out, like
an obsolete and seedy poli-
tician, or king discrowned,
— may not it "come back"?
Originally our tatterde-
malion "King of the For-
est" was one of the noblest
Big Trees. It had a circum-
ference of more than ninetv
feet. Its height was doubt-
less three hundred. Its
crown was worthy of a
monarch of giants. Around
it the tides of ordinary tree
life rose and fell. Pines and
firs, the sturdy commoners
of the forest, spanning out their little generation of three or four centuries,
came and went. But His Sequoia Majesty ruled on.
For two thousand years, or even three, it was the pride
of its stately grove.

Then came disaster that would have wiped out any
other tree. ¥\re destroyed one side of it, and ate away
its heart. Of the huge bole there remained hardly a
half cylinder of sound wood and thick cinnamon-colored
bark. The crown fell, but this charred fragment stood,
ninety feet of hollowed stalk, still Haunting two or three
scorched and ragged little branchlets. It seemed merely
a lopsided and ludicrous monument to departed gran-
deur. Surely even a forest king, in such plight, might
yield without dishonor, and returning to the soil await
reincarnation in another age of Big Tree life. But not
the unconquerable Sequoia. Blood will tell ! So long
as a sound root remained, and sap still flowed, this
"king" would be no less than kingly.

Mustering its diminished resources, the stricken
m-hortus veniisttiN). monarch held its ground. It is the Sequoia way, if a tree

^laill Oak 4 (iucrciis chrysolepis), on >\'a\vona Road.
This familiar tree, also i^lio^vii as "t'auon Live Oak,*'
"Gold-C'u|> Oak,*' etc., is eoiiinion on hillsifles and
eaiion n-alls in the louver half of the l*ark, and
covers the talus and roek leilRes of Yoseniite and
lleteh Hetehj- ivith low-spreading evergreen foliaf?e.

178

VOSKMH K AM) lis lIKill SIKKKA

be weakened by fire, to clutch
the soil more broadly than be-
fore. Thus, here, the few re-
maining roots were sent farther
out, and new stores of nour-
ishment drawn upon. But it
must do more than feed. It
is a tree's oflice to be beautiful.
It is a king's right to wear a
crown. So now the sur\iving

Kin;:; of the Forest," a mere .shell.

efl hy tire, of -what \vas oiiee the
inoiiareh «>f the Tin»liiniiie tJrove:
iHnv making: an heroio elVort to re-
hiiilil its ero«li. and ;iet a ne^v start
in life. The three tisares at its base
slio^v that its (lianieter was ne;irly
thirty feet. The tine tree in the
foreur«>iin<l Hef t t is a six-foot lieil

''ir I \hies ina^ntlie;! t.

branchlets are cheerily turning
upward, — also after the habit
of the species when, crushed by
lightning or storm, it quickly

KINGS OF THE FOREST

179

rebuilds its top; and one of them has already taken shape there, far aloft,
as a symmetrical young tree, undaunted by adversity, and fighting for its
share of air and sunshine. Thus would the living skeleton hide its shame
by grace of new foliage. Here's wishing it luck! Royal endurance merits
homage. Long may so kingly a forest "character" play a part in the tree
world! An eminent expert, famous for his knowledge of mankind, once

Thi'ee Veterans, — the "Haverford" and •miIimi" trees in the ^lariposa tinne, and Galen
Clark at the afse n( UTi. ThLs is said to lie the last ilieture of the eelehrated "(iliardian
of Vosemite." who died a year later, in l!)lt). The "Hnverf*>rd,*' named for the oollep:e
in Pennsylvania, illustrates the Indian praetiee of nsin^ Hi^ Trees :is haekhtjfs for
fires. Althoiiffh Its eore was hurnt away, leaving: a eavern that is reputed to have
sheltered seventeen horses and their riders, its reiuaininK roots have reaehed out the
more stoutly for nourishment, and are supplying ample sap to stalk anil erown.

declared: "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life."
This Sequoia King, more than human in its tenacity, is a veritable Job of
the forest. Its faith forbids death. Better to keep on growing against
odds, better to live even as a misshapen cripple, showing what humble
beauty it may, than to stand a black and rotting shell where once it reigned
Sovereign of the Woods! Truly, it is not alone in the Forest of Arden
that we

Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones.

I'lii* Twins," a siileiitlid (loiible tree in the Tuoluiiiiie (irtive.

NOTES FOR YOSEMITE VISITORS

I. ROADS, TRAILS. BRIEF EXCURSIONS.

The short-time visitor to Yosemite will naturally wish, first of all, to see the
great things near at hand. If he conies in his automobile, he will want to explore
the Valley floor, traversing both the North- and South-side Roads from Happy Isles
and Mirror Lake, the present limits of eastward motor travel, west to and beyond the
"Gates of the Valley." This will enable him to obtain a general view of the Valley's
colossal walls, note their characteristic sculpturing, and see at some leisure, if not close
at hand, two of their most important cataracts, Bridal Veil and Yosemite Falls. He
should also climb with his car at least to Inspiration Point, on the Bridal Veil-Wawona
Road, to enjoy the tremendous picture it offers of the Valley as a whole. This famous
outlook discloses less of beauty, no doubt, than does the view from the North Road
on the bank of the Merced just west of Bridal Veil Meadows (see Frontispiece of this
volume), but it tells even more of the height and massiveness of the well-proportioned
features in the Yosemite scene (See p. 35).

No one, however, should leave Yosemite, if he can help it, without seeing more
than can be seen from the seat of an automobile. A \ast deal of the Valley's beauty
must be learned from the trails. For example, only by their help can one gain a
near-by view of any of the waterfalls, or any satisfactory view at all of the incom-
parable cataracts in the Merced Canon above Happy Isles. The three falls to be
viewed there — Illilouette, Vernal and Nevada — are among the world's noblest spec-
tacles ; and few persons are so poor in time and strength as to be unable to ride, if
not to walk, to some of the good viewpoints commanding them.

Cataracts of the Alerced Cation. — Thus a ride or tramp of a mile over the horse-
trail above Happy Isles brings one past the foot of the lUilouette's branch canon, with
a fine distant view of Illilouette Fall itself (See p. 87), and to the bridge over the
Merced. This is half a mile below Vernal Fall, which is well seen from here, and
still better seen from either of the trails beyond (See p. 89). The lower or "Mist
Trail" (foot travel only) leads along the south bank of the river, unfolding a suc-
cession of remarkable pictures, and quickly gains the very side of Vernal Fall, midway
of its height. After enjoying near-by views of the cataract and its famous rainbows,
and getting somewhat damp
in the mist which fills the
canon, the climber finally as-
cends a well-guarded stairway
cut in the face of the vast per-
pendicular cliff over which
V^ernal pours, and reaches the
platform above, at the brink
of the cataract (See p. 91).
The same startling but safe
viewpoint may be reached on
horseback by the upper trail
from the bridge. On this ride,
which is half a mile longer
than the foot trail, the rider
should pause long enough at
Clark Point to study the scene
below and beyond, which in-
cludes not only Vernal Fall, Ready f..r ihr Irails.

182

YOSEMITK AND US Hl(;il SIKRRA

<'ii|i aiKl .\4*viiflu Full.
I:irk I'oint, nl>«ive \'frnal

seen
Fall.

hut also Nevada, a mile farther up the
river, with Liherty Cap and the Half
Dome towering above and contributing
mightily to the great picture painted by
the old Merced Glacier.

Easily continuing for this additional
mile to the foot of the cataract, the \ isitor
ascends the famous Zigzag Trail, through
a small canon cut by the glacier at the
side of Nevada Fall, gains amazing near-
by views of that great spectacle { See pp.
•^6, 97), and, after crossing the moraine
above, finally stands on the north rim
of the rushing Merced, where it gathers
power and speed for its tremendous leap
into the air and its bOO-foot drop. Here
he should not fail to climb down to the
guarded platform at the ver\' head of the
fall (See p. 90).

Frojii the Top of Nevada Fall. — The
Nevada Fall platform (six miles from
Yosemite Village) is a convenient resting
place and starting point for other delightful trail ventures. From here one goes to
Little Yosemite, a mile farther along the river, and on up the canon to Merced and
Washburn Lakes, where trout bite and Merced Lake Lodge ofiers good accommo-
dations for an indefinite stay. Or he turns north from Little Yosemite for the ascent
of Half Dome and Clouds Rest. But if he is limited in time, his best choice will be
Glacier Point. Crossing the bridge over the Merced above Nevada Fall, he quickly
climbs the south rim of the canon and reaches Panorama Point, with its fine views
of the Merced and lililouette below, and Half Dome beyond; descends to lllilouette
Fall, easily seen from its head, by a short trail from the bridge over lllilouette Creek;
and ascends the long slope of Glacier Point to the charming new hotel at its summit
and the world-famed views with wliich this great outlook rewards the visitor (See
pp. 23, 68. 102, 1(J3). If possible, he should spend a night here; the sunrise over
the High Sierra and the morning songs of Vernal and Nevada, heard from their
granite seats below, will make him glad to be alive. The return to Yosemite Village
should be made by the "Short Trail" (four miles), leading down past Union Point
and the foot of Sentinel Rock (See p. 31). This trail unfolds changing pictures of
the Valley itself, and the deep booming of Yosemite Falls, across the way, is never
to be forgotten.

Other trail routes back to the Valley are the Ledge Trail and the Pohono Trail.
The former leads directly down from Glacier Point, two miles; but is not practicable
for horses, and indeed should not be attempted b\ persons without experience in climb-
ing. The Pohono Horse Trail offers a splendid scenic trip of twenty miles to Yosem-
ite Village. Leaving Glacier Point Hotel, it passes Sentinel Dome via the Chin-
ouapin Road, then turns off to Taft Point and the Fissures, touching the other main
outlooks on the south rim, and finally reaching Fort Monroe for the return to the
Valley floor by Wawona Road and Inspiration Point.

Glacier Point may be reached, or left, not onh b\ the trails, but by automobile
stages or private cars over the Wawona-Chinquapin Road. This fine scenic route
is ftdlowed by thousands of motors each season. No one who wants to see the best
tjiat Yosemite has for the hurried visitor should go away without getting to Glacier
Point by one of these routes. In time, no doubt, the inclined tunnel will add a
route protected from snow, making upland winter sports part of every winter visit.

NOTES FOR Y0SP:MITE VISITORS

183

Oil the north ivall of the J' alley, two great routes, Yosemite Falls Trail and
Snow Creek Trail, lead to the plateau above. The former trail quits the Valley
floor a quarter of a mile west of \ osemite Lodge, rises a thousand feet over the
earthquake talus, through a forest of tine golden-cup oaks, to Columbia Rock ; thence
turning east it traverses a broad ledge, with constantly changing views of the Valley
and its heights, to the foot of Yosemite Upper Fall, which can be reached by a short
detour, and finally zigzags up the little glacial cafion west of the fall to the hanging
valley of Yosemite Creek above. The brow of the fall is easily gained, and is well
worth a visit for its near view of the falling stream, and of the remarkable jointing
of the Valley wall, which enabled the old "Yosemite Creek Glacier to dig back this
deep side caiion in which the Upper Fall hangs (See pp. 80, 81). But the trip is
not complete till one has climbed still higher, to Yosemite Point (five miles from
Yosemite Village), and enjoyed the fine glacial landscape modeled by the \'osemite
Creek Glacier, and the splendid outlook over the Valley and up to the High Sierra
on the east.

Three branch trails lead from the head of Yosemite. One is to Eagle Peak,
highest of the Three Brothers, and thence to the top of El Capitan. A second trail
leads north, following up Yosemite Creek to Tioga Road, and commonly forms the
first part of a trip of several dai,s to Ten Lake Basin and other north-side points of
interest. The third trail offers the best route to the top of North Dome, where per-
haps the most impressive view of Half Dome may be had. Return to the Valley
may well be made via the Snow Creek Trail, a total of twenty miles from the morn-
ing's start at Yosemite Village.

Snow Creek Trail itself invites the visitor especially to a two-day round trip
to Tenava Lake, one of the most interesting spots near the Valley. This journey
should be begun early, as after passing Mirror Lake (where the fine sunrise reflection
is seen at about 8 o'clock of a
summer morning), there is a
2,500-foot climb by a hundred
switchbacks, and the sun on this
nortli wall becomes very hot
before noon. The rising trail
commands notable views of
Half Dome and its neighboring
Quarter Domes, and of the
glaciated slope of Clouds Rest,
across Tenaya Canon, as well
as of Basket Dome on the
north wall. After reaching the
rim of the caiion, the climber
may turn west to North Dome,
and thence proceed to Yosemite
Head and descend via the Yo-
semite Falls Trail, or he may
continue over the Mt. Watkins
ridge and along the north rim
of Tenaya Canon to a junction
with Tioga Road, which quick-
ly brings him to Tenaya Lake.
Here an excellent Lodge offers
accommodations for interesting
days of mountain climbing, or a
starting point for a further

journey to Toulumne Mead- riimhinK the /.iKi^aK 'I'mil. at the side of Nevada

184

YOSEMITK AND ITS IIICII SII.KKA

SiiKni* I'iiM'.

i)\vs. Return fnim Tciiaya may \\ell be made by
l'"ors\ tb Pass Trail, across the ridge east of Clouds
Rest, and back to tbe V^alley via Nevada Fall. The
sunny pass (9,000 ft.) is full of glacial autographs.

Other inviting trails lead from (ilacier Point,
from Merced Lake, and Tena\a Lake, and Tuolumne
Meadows, but the ones named ofter the best short
trips for the visitor who is limited in time.

Those who wish to go farther afield and visit
parts of the Yosemite Park not reached by a one-day
trip from Yosemite Village may obtain information
at the office of the Superintendent of the Park as to
trails, outfits, and camping conditions. Much of
such information may be found in the pamphlet,
"Rules and Regulations, \'osemite National Park,"
to be had free at the Superintendent's office or by
mail from the National Park Service, Washington.
Every visitor should study this booklet.

Many vacationists spend months in the Park up-
lands, "hiking" to out-of-the-way points, not so far
removed from some of the hotels, lodges or camps as
to be unable to obtain all needful supplies at fre-
quent intervals. Such mountaineering provides a de-
lightful vacation at very moderate cost. The Super-
intendent of the Park and the Yosemite National
Park Company will furnish information of value to
those contemplating such an outing. The Yosemite
National Park Company also furnishes complete
equipment for independent camping trips, including
transportation, if desired, with guides and supplies.

II. TRANSPORTATION.

For persons coming to Yosemite by rail there are
two methods of reaching the Valley. By the first,
the visitor leaves the Southern Pacific or Santa Fe
Railroad at Merced, 145 miles from San Francisco
and 330 from Los Angeles, and travels by the Yo-
semite Valley Railroad 78 miles to El Portal, near
the western boundary of the Park, whence the Yo-
semite National Park Compan\ operates an automo-
bile stage line to Yosemite Village, 12 miles. The
other route carries him from Merced by the auto
stages of the Yosemite Stage and Turnpike Company
to Mariposa V^illage, thence to the Mariposa Big
Tree Grove, Wawona, and Yosemite. Visitors en-
tering by either route may leave by the other.

The Yosemite National Park Company has an
exclusive concession for other transportation within
the Park, and maintains excellent service to the Mari-
posa, Tuolumne and Merced Groves of Big Trees,
to Hetch Hetchy, and, via Tioga Road, to Tenaya
Lake, Tuolumne Meadows, Tioga Pass, Mono Lake,
and Lake Tahoe. The Companv maintains well-

NOTES FOR VOSEMITE VISITORS

185

equipped lodges at Tenava and Merced Lakes, and provides guides and horses for those
who wish to travel thither by trail.

Fuller information regarding transportation may be had from either of the com-
panies named by addressing them at Yosemite, California.

III. ENTERTAINMENT.

Next to getting Congress to vote money for improvements, the problem of caring
properly for the growing tide of visitors has proved the hardest nut for the National
Park Administration to crack. For the protection of tourists, it must annex strict
conditions to leases, and limit them in time. These restrictions, with the shortness of
the mountain season, render any large investment a risk which few capitalists care to
assume. Hence, in Yosemite as well as in other parks, hotel-camps have been found
the most economical, as giving the largest amount of accommodations on a moderate
expenditure. Yosemite has perhaps the most typical and populous camps of this sort
in any of the National Parks.

Camp Curry. — This representative Yosemite resort is only less famous than
Yosemite itself. It has enabled thousands to know Yosemite who, but for its good
service at moderate prices, would never have seen it. For twenty-two years it has
been a factor in the entertainment of Yosemite visitors, and during more than half
that period its efficient organization and the personal supervision of its intelligent
owners have made it the largest single factor in such hospitality. For the privilege
of rendering this useful public service it has paid to the Government many thousands
of dollars in license fees and percentages.

The Camp was opened by the late David A. Curry on June 1, 189Q. Mr. Curry
and his wife, both of whom had been students \mder David Starr Jordan in the Uni-

f'aiiip Curry's Sorlal Life Centers :il>,

<N (';iiii|i l-'ire. ill this I'nilrt.

186

VOSEMITK AND US HKJIl SIKKKA

versify of Indiana, followed their friend and former teacher to the Coast, where Curry
was a public school principal, and sometimes assisted Dr. Jordan in managing his
vacation tours with students. Out of this helpful association grew the plan to estab-
lish a hotel in tents, in Yosemite Valle\.

David Curry was a man of integrity, resource, and unflagging energy; but
while thousands remember him for these sterling qualities, the foundation of his
great resort, still more, no doubt, affectionately recall "the Stentor's" splendid phvsique
and voice as he greeted the Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point, overhead, or speeded a
receding stageload of parting guests to a quick return. He was indeed an ideal Boni-
face. His enterprise, now kiKJwn in all parts of the world, started with seven tents,

pitched around a camp fire, —
the only part of Camp Curry
that has not been moved. Its
first guests were a party of
school teachers. When the sea-
son ended, the number of tents
bad increased to twenty-three,
and the total of those enter-

Camp <'urry, ilcliKhtflllly si
nttMl niiioiiu' the piiifN at 1
foot at (■l:M-icr l*(»ili( one mile
from llapp> IsU-s. 'I'liis jK tlit'
larK4*Nt of lilt' tourist t-amps ill
^OKcmilr \allfy. 'I'lli- little
l>oiiK*las siiiiirreiN are eoinmim
tliroimlioiil the Park.

tained to 2'^K). From this small
beginning, the Camp has grown

steadily about its central camp fire, until it now has 650 tents and thirty bungalows,
accommodating a thousand guests. Its more permanent buildings, which began in
1900 with the erection of a dining hall, now include a score of roomy structures,
among which are the central offices, an auditorium much used both as a convention
hall and ball room; a large and attractive "studio," a billiard hall, bath houses and
swimming tank, laundry, and a garage which is the largest building in the \'alle\, with
shelter for nearly two hundred cars.

"A distinguishing feature of Camp Curry," says Superintendent Lewis of the
Yosemite Park, in his last annual report, "is its complete electric-cooking installation.
\Vith one of the largest, if not the largest electro-cooking installations in the State,
practically all of the cooking and baking for the camp's guests, reaching at times as
many as 1,100, is done by this most modern and sanitary means."

The Camp is pliiced in a grove of splendid pines, firs and cedars, a mile below
Happy Isles, and almost within the shadow of the great wall of Glacier Point, tower-

NOTES FOR YOSEMITE VISITORS

187

^^^

ing more than 3,000 feet above. The original center of the Camp's social life, the
camp fire, still holds its importance as a rendezvous, to which come, night after night,
throngs of guests, to listen to music by experts, to hear lectures and addresses by dis-
tinguished speakers, and to see moving-picture shows illustrating the great scenery of
Yosemite and explaining its origin. Since the death of Mr. Curry in 1917, the Camp
has been conducted with continued success by Mrs. Curry and her son, Mr. Foster
Curry, ably assisted by Mr. Wallace B. Curtis, associate manager.

Camp Curry is a favorite resort for automobilists. Among the causes of this
popularity are the prizes offered by the Camp in several annual contests, the most
noteworthy of which are the Economy Runs from Los Angeles to Yosemite, held an-
nually for the last five years during the first week in May under the sanction and
rules of the American Automobile Association. This event attracts nation-wide atten-
tion, as establishing a standard test for automobile mountaineering.

Yosemite National Park Com-

pany. — The Yosemite Park, ^K^J
however, requires more than
single camps. The Park Ad-
ministration's problem, there-
fore, has been to find an organ-
ization strong enough finan-
cially to provide, not only the
larger and varied accommoda-
tions now needed in the Valley,
in summer and winter, but also
to keep pace with the proposed
road and trail development by
the Government by establishing
camps — and hotels, too, if need-
ed— in other parts of the Park,
and carrying visitors to them.
This meant an investment of
millions, with a probability that
profits, though assured, might
be deferred. After several years'
effort. Director Mather at last
induced San Francisco and Los
Angeles business men to form a
corporation, the Yosemite Na-
tional Park Company, which
took over the Desmond conces-
sions and properties in 1918, in-
cluding the beautiful new hotel
at Glacier Point, and the lodges
at Merced and Tenaya Lakes.
This company has enlarged Yo-
semite Lodge by adding many
bungalows, modernized the Sen-
tinel Hotel in \'osemite Village.
and established a lodge at Mari-
posa Big Tree Grove and at
Mather Station on the Hetch

^^'^TW...

View from 8t<iiif<>ril Point, on tlie Soiitll Kim of Vo-
seniife <'.-iflon, west of Itriilal Veil Kull. Tliis pic-
ture is of interest to motorists, Itei'iiiise in the
ilistanee IliK C»nli Flat Hoael is seen ileseenilini-' to
tile tloor of Yosemite Valley. Many tliousands of
ailtoinoliiles enter the Park earh season over this
steeii old toll road, hiinK on the side of the Kreat
north wail. It will no doubt be largely su|i|>lanted
when t'alifornia eoinpletes the State highway now
buildinK from Mariposa to Kl Portal, thus opening;
a low-srade road of great seenie value from the
San .loaquin eountry up the Mereed Kiver level, at
the bottom of this Korne. and direetly on to the
Valley tloor. (Compare the lirst illustrati
in 1 f»semite <';iflon." page «. )

ion, "IJawn

188

yOSEMITK AMI US lIKill SIKRKA

Hetchy Railroad; and it is planning further additions. Information as to its excel-
lent service may be obtained by addressing the compan\- at Yosemite or San Francisco.

IV. AUTOMOBILES.

Automobiles are now admitted to Yosemite Park, subject to the simple restric-
tions printed in the Park Ser\ice pamphlet, Riilts and Regitliilinns. Yosemite Xationnl
Park, to be had free at the Superintendent's office, or from the National Park Service,
Washington, D. C.

Vehicles enter from the south and west ( P'resno, Madera, Merced) via Wawona
and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove, and follow the \Vawona-Bridal Veil Road down
the south wall of the Valley; or from Stockton and Modesto, by the Big Oak Flat
or the Coulterville Road, both of which descend the north wall to the Valley floor. As
soon as these upland roads are open, in early summer, information of the fact is given
to the several automobile associations in California, and tourists may learn the state
of the roads from them, or by addressing the Superintendent's office, Yosemite, Calif.

F'rom the east, cars enter the Park via Mono Lake and the Tioga Road, not open
till midsummer. They reach Mono Lake from Lake Tahoe on the north, Tonopah
on the east, and Bishop on the south, over good State highways.

Owners who wish to avoid driving their cars over the steep mountain roads may
ship them from Merced to El Portal, via the Yosemite Valle\' Railroad, at a charge
of $12.85, including war tax. Manv owners bring in their cars thus, for use in the
Park.

The California State Automobile Association maintains a branch office at Yo-
semite Village, in conjunction with the Park Service Information Bureau. Here the
best information obtainable regarding road conditions is collected, furnished free to
motorists, and disseminated through the association's city offices.

V. NATURE-GUIDE SERVICE.

A free nature-guide system has been established in \ oseniite V'alley by the Na-
tional Park Service and the California State Game and Fish Commission. The object

is to enable visitors to understand and name the
trees, plants, birds, and other wild things seen
in the Valley and on the trails. Two well-known
California naturalists, Dr. H. C. Bryant, of the
University of California, and Dr. Loye Holmes
Miller, of the Southern branch of that institu-
tion, are in charge of the work, delivering illus-
trated lectures at the different camps, and lead-
ing parties of visitors afield for intimate stud\' of
the roadside life. This work is steadily being
extended to include special excursions for chil-
dren, and to interest still larger numbers of adults
by trips to the upland at Glacier Point and else-
where. This invaluable and popular service is
free to all who care to take advantage of its in-
struction and advice.

VI. LE CONTE MEMORIAL LECTURES.

The Le Conte Memorial Lectures in Yo-
semite are established and maintained by the
Hear anil Tubs, in iHMoiiott)- Canon. Universitv Extension Division of the Universitv

NOTES FOR YOSEMITE VISITORS

189

of California as a memorial to the late Joseph Le Conte, the famous professor of
geology and natural history in that institution from 1869 to 1901. Specialists in
geology, biology, zoology, botany, Indian lore, and other scientific subjects illustrated
in Yosemite will lecture in popular language on their especial themes. Admission is
free. Dates, speakers, and place are well advertised in the Valley and through the
public press, or may be learned at the Superintendent's office in the Park, or the
Extension Division, University of California, Berkeley.

VII. YOSEMITE MUSEUM.

The Yosemite Museum, designed to exhibit the history, ethnology, physical
geography, flora and fauna of the Yosemite region, was opened in the spring of 1921.
It occupies the former Jorgensen Studio, across the bridge from Yosemite Village.
Its central feature is a large "relief map" of Yosemite Valley, designed and modeled
by Ansel F. Hall, author and Park ranger. This useful model was constructed by
the aid of photography, on a horizontal scale of 1 1 inches to the mile, the work being
built up of strips of cardboard covered with plaster, carefully shaped by hand, to
exhibit all contours, elevations, roads, trails, and other Yosemite features.

The Museum has much else to show, several interesting collections having been
given or loaned by friends of the National Park Service. These include the notable
collection of Yosemite Indian baskets assembled by Dr. Sargent of Lodi, the McFar-
land Indian collection, and a large collection of Yosemite butterflies made by the Cali-

Kelief >lo«leI of ^'osfiiiite Valle.v, a fe:itilrt> of (hr \osrnii(4- >lust*uiii just op«"neil in the
former J<ir;;-eii.sen Stllfli(», \4tse111ile. This j-renl "iiia|>" is a faithful reproduetion €>f
the Valley's contours, designed and modeled by Ansel F. Hall, of the \ational I'ark
Service.

190 YOSKMiri, AND US men sii.kka

fornia Academy of Sciences. Not least interesting among the exhibits promised are
two venerable stage coaches, one the first stage brought into the Valley, having arrived
in sections during the late '60's. The other saw regular service in the Bret Harte days
between Angels Camp and Murphy's. A fine collection of samples of Yosemite
woods is the gift of a near-by lumber company.

Thus ri good beginning has been made towards an instructive and comprehensive
exhibit of the natural science of the Park.

VIII. YOSEMITE LITERATURE.

The useful pamphlet, iltiitral Iiifi/rinalirin Rtiinnl'ing Yosemite Sntinntil Park.
may be had gratis at the (jffice of the Superintendent in \ Dsemite Village, or bv mail
from the Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C It contains brief notes on
the Park and its elevations, distances, trails, etc. ; size of Big Trees in Mariposa Grove;
rules and rates of transportation ; hotels, camps, and camping outfits ; automobile regu-
lations; and a bibliography of books and magazine articles. Three other government
pamphlets are for sale at the Superintendent's office: Sketch of Yosemite "Sational
Park, a popular account of Yosemite geology by F. E. Matthes, U. S. Geological Sur-
vey, price 10 cents; The Secret of the Big Trees, by Ellsworth Huntington, 5 cents;
and Forests of Yosemite. Sequoia aiitl Gen. Grant \atioiial Parks, by C L. Hill,
20 cents.

A capital Yosemite Guide Book, by Ansel F. Hall, of the National Park Service,
is to be had at all the studios, price 50 cents. It describes all roads in the Park, with
the trails south of the Tuolumne. Foley's Yosemite Souvenir, a handy pocket guide,
may be purchased at J. D. Fole> 's studio in the village.

Handbook of Yosemite National Park, Ansel F. Hall editor, 1921, is the amplest
contribution yet made to the popular science side of ^'osemite literature. The book
mainly comprises essays on the histor\-, Indians, geology, life zones, birds, animals,
reptiles, fishes, insects, trees. Giant Sequoia, and flowers of the Yosemite Park, written
by professors in the University of California. Other informing papers on the National
Park Service and \'osemite Park Administration are contributed by Director Mather
and Superintendent Lewis, and articles on camping, motoring and photography by
local experts.

Arthur C. Pillsbury, Yosemite photographer, to whom the present volume owes
many of its finest illustrations, has in hand a much-needed book on the wild flowers
of the Yosemite-Tahoe Sierra. This publication, for which Mr. Pillsbury's accom-
plished wife is writing the text, will render a service not hitiierto undertaken for lovers
of the mountain flora b\ showing a very large number of plants in bloom, in color
plates carefully prepared from nature. Pillsbury is one of the foremost American
photographers, and these photographic studies of California flowers have for years
occupied much of his time and interest. Advance orders for "California Mountain
Flowers in Color" may be placed at the Pillsbury Studio in Yosemite, or at the city
store, Pillsbury's Pictures, Inc., 501 Geary Street, San Francisco.

Of the earlier books. Dr. L. H. Bunnell's Discovery of Yosemite. 1880, 4th ed.,
1911, is the best account of the Indian war of 1851 and the visits of the Mariposa
Battalion. The last edition is handsomely illustrated from photographs bv Bovsen.
//; the Heart of the Sierras, by J. M. Hutchings, 1885, is a history of the Valley by
one of its earliest residents. Prof. J. D. \Viiitne>'s The Yosemite Guide-Book, 1871,
despite its obsolete theory of the Valley's origin, is a very readable and informing essay.
Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada, 1871, by Clarence King, Whitney's associate
in the geological survey of California, is one of the best books inspired by the mountains
of the West.

Three booklets, Indians of Yosemite J alley . 1904; The Big Trees of California.
1907, and '/"/(( Yosemite T alley. 1910, by Galen Clark, discoverer of the Mariposa

NOTES P'OK VOSKMITE VISITORS 191

Grove, and long the Guardian of Yoseniite under tlie State regime, contain much first-
hand information. A charming and most valuable description of the Park, with its
glaciers, past and present; its forests, flowers, birds and animals, is to be found in John
Muir's Yoseniite, 1912. Muir's other books, Aly First Summer in the Sierrti, 1911 ;
The Mountains of California, enlarged ed., 1913; and Our National Parks, 1909, are
also full of Yoseniite. Naturalist and geologist as he was, Mr. Muir, rather than
Joaquin Miller, has been the real poet of the Sierra, though he wrote in prose. His
books are after all not so much treatises on its natural history as delightful interpreta-
tions of its spirit. Yosemite Trails, 1911, by J. Smeaton Chase, is an enjoyable
account of the Yosemite uplands, especially useful on their trees and flowers. Mr.
Chase's little manual, Cone-Bearing Trees of the California Mountains, 1911, will
also be found of service.

The standard handbook on the botany of the Park is A Yosemite Flora, 1912, by
Prof. Harvey M. Hall and Carlotta C. Hall. Untechnical in style and excellently
illustrated, with keys for identifying the trees and flowers, this accurate manual is
invaluable for field work. Prof. Willis Linn Jepson's The Trees of California, 1909,
is well planned for laymen's use, and capitalh' illustrated. It is not to be confused
with his monumental and technical Silva of California, published by the University of
California. Supplementing these popular handbooks, Sudworth's Forest Trees of the
Pacific Slope, 1908, published by the U. S. Forest Service, covers the Sierra forests
with the same thoroughness given to the rest of its subject.

The eleven volumes of the Sierra Club Bulletin contain a store of papers bv ex-
perts, covering not only the Yosemite country, but also the great mountains of the Kings
and Kern River basins. These admirably edited publications, with a considerable
library of other mountain literature, may be consulted at the Sierra Club's headquarters,
the Le Conte Memorial Lodge, near Camp Curry. In the general periodicals of this
country and Europe, Yosemite and Hetch Hetchy Valleys have received more atten-
tion than any other American scenic district, and many noteworthy articles may be
found through the periodical indexes and magazine files at the public libraries.

IX. YOSEMITE PHOTOGRAPHS AND MOVING PICTURES.

All hotel and camp news-stands in the Park sell original photographs of Yo-
semite and Hetch Hetchy Valleys, the Big Trees, and High Sierra scenery. Collec-
tions of the finest photographs may also be found at the studios of the Pillsbury Pic-
ture Company, J. T. Boysen and other photographers in Yosemite V^illage, and at the
Camp Curry Studio, where Ralph C. Anderson is the photographer. The last-named
studio now owns the noteworthy negatives of that artist-photographer, the late George
Fiske. Photographs and enlargements by Fiske, Boysen, Pillsbury or Anderson, cor-
responding to their pictures reproduced in this volume, and listed in the Table of
Illustrations on pp. 11-15, may be had by calling at, or writing to, the studio con-
cerned.

Moving pictures showing scenes in all parts of Yosemite National Park, including
the great cataracts, waterwheels and avalanches in action, and the mountain wild-
flowers developing from bud to full bloom, attract many visitors to the Pillsbury
Studio each evening in the season. Motion-picture shows also form a drawing feature
of the evening camp fire entertainments at Camp Curry and Y'^osemite Lodge.

' ERRATA.

On page 114, the notice, "Copyright, Pillsbury," which should appear under the
illustration, was inadvertently omitted. The fact that this illustration is from a
copyrighted photograph is indicated by the * in the Table of Illustrations, page 14.

On page 123, in the second caption, and on page 124, line 1, "Triple Divide
Peak" should read : Triple Divide Pass.

INDEX

Figures in light face type refer to tlie text, those in heavier type to illustrations.

Aeroplane X'icw of Vosemite Falls,

SO
Agassiz Column. 102
••Ahwahnec-," 32, 34
"Alabama'" Tvee, 171
"Apron" and Glacial Tarn, 125
Aspens, 100
Automobiles, 57, 58, 61. 62, 64,

70, 184, 188
"Back Road," Yosemite. 70
lianner Peak. 04. 05. 13a, 138
liashford, Herbert, quoted, 139
Basket Dome. 183
Bears, 03, 1S8
Benson Pass, 114, 146. 130
Bergschrund. 133-4. l:;»
Big Oak Flat Koad. 57, 61, 70,

71, 3, 1N7
Blue Jav, r.O

Bloody Cafion, 40. 3«. 58. 138
Boling. C'apt. lohn. 45, 46, 5«
Bonneville, Gen. B. L. E., 36
Boys-en, I. T.. 191
Bridal Veil Fall. 71 82. 181, 3,

4, 35. 74, 75
Bridal Veil — Wawona Road. 181
Bridal Veil Meadow, 181, 71
Broderick, Mt.. SO
Bryant, Dr. H. C, 188
Bunnell, Dr. L. H., 38, 40, 44,

511, 190.
Bunnell Point. 08. 101
Burroughs. John, quoted. 108
Burt, Maxwell, quoted, 20
Buttercups, 35
Calochortus, 166
California Kails, 145
Camp Curry, 185187, 185, 180
Canon of Yosemite, 69
Cascade Falls, 74, 73
Cassiope, 166

"Cataract of Diamonds." 95
Cathedral Creek Falls. 144
Cathedral Peak, 125, 139, 167,

10, 30, 131, 140
Cathedral Rocks, 76, 35, 72, 77
Cathedral Spires, 94. 70, 77
Cedar, see Incense Cedar
Chase, J. Smeaton. quoted, 71,

191
Cherry Creek, 154
Chilnualna Falls. 70
Chinquapin. 71, 113. 182
Cirques. S4. 133-4. 37. 11
Clark, Galen, 190. 70. SS. 103
Clark, Mt., 86, 167, 7, 33. 33,

35. 33. 113. II.-., 117, 118, 120
Clark Point, 181
Clauds Ucst. 62. 100, 112, 182,

7, 41, 40, OS, 113
CocksL-omI) Crist. 138
Colby Mtn.. 31
Cold Creek Meadows. 145. .50
Colorado Grand Caiion, 22, 24,

108
Columbia Rock, 183
ConnesF, John, 50
Conness Creek, 145, 50
Conness, Mt., 00, 1.30, 130
Cook, Rev. Joseph, quoted, 3
Cookstoves on the March, 141
Coultcrville Road, 57, 72, 30
Crane Flat, 62

Craters of .Mono Countv, 133
Currv, David \.. 185
Dana, Mt., 141, 167-8, 30, 27,

50, 01, 03. 125
—Glacier, 168, 37, 120
Davis Peak, 122
Deer, 44
Devils Postpile, 00

"Diamoiul Groiq>," 170
Domes, 93, 55. 101, 104

Donohue Pass, IIS

Douglas Fir, see Firs, Douglas

Eagle Peak, 111, 1S3, 47, 85

Kagle Peak Trail, 183, 30

Echo Peak, 13»

El Capitan, 32, 50, 104, 111, 183,

■ 4, 31, 33.73, 78, 85, 100

- — .Moraine. 76.

El Portal, 57. 58. 72, 73, 184

Eleanor Canon, 38. 154

Eleanor, Lake, 1.50

Eleetra Peak, 128, 133

Emerald Pool, !I2

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, quoted 69

Erythronium, 166

Evening Primroses, 100

Fairview Dome, 132, 139, 131

"Fallen Monarch," 1<(0

Falls Ridge, 30

Fernandez Pass, 118, 110, 131,

133
Firs. Douglas. 163. 172
—Red, 148, 161, 166, 168, 109,

170
—White, 161, 168-9, 3«, 101
Fissures, The, 9t, 1S2. 108
Five-Finger Falls, 150
Florence Mtn.. 128. 33
Flowers. Mountain. 28. 166
Foerster Pass. 118
Foerster Peak. 12.S. Ill
Forest Trail, 54
Forest Fire, 53
Forests, 28, 159179, 30, 101
Forsyth Pass, 62, 113, 125, 168
Forsyth Pass Trail, 184
"Four Guardsmen," 51
Eraser, Monroe, 37
Gale Peak, 110. 131
Gannett, Dr. Ilenrv. c}Uoted, 134
Geikie, Sir .\rchibald, 133
"General Grant," Mariposa Grove,

51; Gen. Grant National Park,

174
"General Sherman" Mariposa

Grove, 51; Sequoia National

Park, 173
Gibbs, Mt., 141, 167-8, 30, 01,

125
Glaciers, 24, 78. 79, 80, 82, 133,

134, 120, 139
134 Glacier Landscapes. 22. 23
Glacier National Park, 22
Glacier Point, 86, 93, lOS, 111,

112, 113. 122, 182, 186, 9. 23

OS. 92. 103, 113. 113, 114
Glacier Point Tunnel, proposed,

114, 182
Glen .\ulin, 126, 141
Golden-cup Oak, see Oaks
"Governor Tod" Group, 172
Grand Mountain, 39
Granite Benches, 34, 100, 34, 101,

133
Greeley, Horace, quoted, 69
"Grizzly Giant," 53. 175
Groveland, 71
Guides, 126, 185
Half Dome, 93, 94, 111, 112,

1S2, 183, 9, 32, 41, 4(i. tiO. S5.

93, 101, 102. 103, 107, 109
Mall, .\nsel 1".. 189, 190
Hall. H. .\1. and C. C. 164, 191
"Happv Hours" (Deer), 44
Happy'lsles, 62. 76, 181, 1S6, 50.

94
Harden Lake Trail, 126, 156
Ilendocks, Mountain, 145, 164-5,

166, 145

Hetch Helchv. 25, 79. 80. 146-
154. 173. 184, 19, 139, 153,
. 154, 1.55. 1.50. 157

Hetch lletchv Railroad, 155, 156
Hoffman, .Mt'., 84, 104, 132, 20,

29, 37, 57. 112
Illilouette Canon, 188
lUilouette Creek, 182
Illilouette Fall, 181, 182, 87
Illilouette Watershed, 86. 113
Incense Cedar. 162. 172
ln<lians. Vosemite. 32. 34. 42, 45-

50, 43. 4S
— Indian Basket Maker, 48
— Indian .\corn Cache, 38
— Indian Grist Mill, 40
— Indian collection, McFarland.

189
Information Bureau, 188
Inspiration Point, 69-71, 181, 35
Jack Main Caiion, lH
Jepson, Prof., W. E., 174, 191
Jeffery Pine, see Pines, Jcflfery
"Jointing," 81
Johnson, Willard, 134
Jordan, David Starr, 185
Juniper, 105
Kellogg Oak, see Oaks
King, Clarence, 54, 81, 190
King. .Mt. Starr, see Starr King

.Mt.
"King of the Forest," tree, 176-9,

178
Kolana Rock, 19. 153, 1.57
Kuna Crest. 30. 39, 01. 130, 134
Lakes, glacial, 25. 28. 79-81. 12S
Lake Eleanor. 155, 156, 150
Lake Harriet. 118
Lake Merced, 99
Lake Tahoe, 61, 07
Lambert Dome, 139, 167, .50

140
Ledge Trail, 1X2
Lembert, John Baptist, 140
Le Conte 'Falls, 144
Le Conte Memorial Lectures, 188
Le Conte Memorial, Lodge. 114,

90
Leopard Lily. 70
Leevining Canon. 01. 03
Lewis, VV. B., 62, 64, 66, 74, 181,

quoted 186, 33. 183
Liberty Cap. 93. 33. 95
Literature, "i'osemite. 190
Little Hetch lletchv, 1.53
Little Yosemite, 182, 33, 95, 98,

101
Lodgepole Pine, see Pine.
Long Mtn., 34

Los Angeles Water Supply, 154
Lost .\rrow, 94, S3
Lost Arrow Trail. 81
Lvell Fork of Tuolumne. 21, 120
L'vell Glacier. 137, 130
Lvell. ,Mt., 139, 144. 7. 31. 33,

118. 124. 127. 13.5, 137, 13S
Lvman, Prof. W. D., (|Uoted, 25
Mammoth Peak, 167-8, 30, 30,

58
"Mariposa Battalion," 4 0, 190
Mariposa-El Portal Road, 72
Mariposa Grove, 50, 54, 57, 69,

163, 184, 187, see Sequoia
Mariposa Lily, 177
Mariposa Village, 184
M.ither Station. 156
Mather. Stephen T., 60, 108, 187,

190
Matterhorn Caiion, 144, 146, 133,

1.30
Matterhorn Peak, 14 6, 133

INDEX

193

Matthes, Francois E., 106, 134,

190
Maul Oak, see under Oaks
"McKinlev" tree. 158
McClure Fork of Merced River, G
McClure, Mt., 128, SI _ _
Merced Carion, 57. 62, ~^, 74,

181. 23. 34, SO, 11.S
Merced Glacier, 93, 1S2, J(H
Merced Grove, 30, 193
Merced Lake, 92, 116. 99, 101
Merced Pass, 118. 121
Merced Range. 86. 22, 11.S
Merced River, 46, 52 aS. 73. 79.

182. 4, 6, S, 23, 33, 44, 68, 6»,
72. 94, 107

Merced Watershed. 23

Miller. D, Loye Holmes, 188

Miller Lake, 14 5

Minarets, 65

Mirror Lake, 102. 181. 183, 43.

100
Mono Craters, 132
Mono Lake, 141, 184. 02
Mono Pass; 37. 36, .'iS, 124
Moraine Meadows, 121
Muir Gorge, 14 4-5, 39, 150, 151
Muir, John, 30, 52, 54, 81. 88,

111. "128. 135. 173, 191, 52
Muir Trail. 137
Nature-Guide Service, 188
National Park Service. 184, 188.

190
Nevada Fall, 62, 64, 8S. 181. 182.

23, 4S, 90, 90, 97, 112. 182
"New England Bridge,'" 70
New York Water Project, 154
North Dome, 111, 112, 183. 8.

41, 50, 78
North Road, 181
Oaks, black (Kellogg), 152, 172-3,

79, 168
— Maul, Golden Cup, or Caiion

live, 172-3. 177
Panorama Point, 113, 182
Pardee. Gov, Geo. C, 52
Parsons Peak, 12S, 120
Parsons, Edward T., 141
Parsons Memorial Lodge, 135,

141
Passes, 133. 116, 117, 118, 120 3
Pate Valley. 126
Photographs. 191
Pillsbury, Arthur C. 190
Pinchat, Gifford, 52
Pines, Teffrev. 160. 166, 169-70,

95. i05. i«2, 164
— Lodgepole or Tamarck, 125,

161, 20, 167
—Sugar. 160. 166. 169. 160,

161, 163
— Western White, 166, 168
— Western Yellow, 160. 166, 169
—White-bark. 164
Piute Mountain. 148. 134
Pleasant Valley, 146
Pohono, see Bridal \'eil Fall
Pohono Trail, 113, 182. 3.". 100
Polemonium, 42
Polly Dome, 16
Potter Point, 120
Primrose, E\ening, 109
Ragged Peak. 60
Rancheria Creek, 148, 152
Rancheria Mtn., 146, 148
Rangers' Club Hou^e, lOS
Rainier National Park, 22, 25
Red Fir, see Firs
Red Peak, 121
Regulation Peak, 17
Return Creek Canon, 126
Ritter, Mt,, 65, 1.38
Roads, 57. 60. 66. 71, 181
Rodgers Lake. 14 6. 17, 149
Rodgers Peak, 128. 122
Roosevelt, Theodore, 52. 52

Roval Arches, 94, 150. 8, 41, 45,

60, 85
Ruskin, John, auoted, 17
San Francisco Water and Power

Project, 148-156
Santa Fe Railroad, 184
Sardine Lake, 37
Saurian Crest, 28
.Savage, Maj. James D., 36. 42.

44, 45
Seavev Pass, 134
Sentinel Dome. 111. 2, 104. 105
Sentinel Hotel, 187
Sentinel Rock, 94, 182, IS, 31.

100
Sequoias. 17, 30, 173-179, 56,

135

— Mariposa Grove, 51, 135, 176,
170

— Merced Grave. 163, 30

— Tuolumne Grove, 156, 163,
178, 180

Service. Robert W. (|uuted, 7

"Short Trail," 182, 100

Sierra Club. 52. 134-6. 139. 144,
191, 7, 11. 137. 1.12

Smedberg Lake, 146. 148

Smith Peak. 130

Snow Creek Falls. 26

Snow Creek Trail, 61, 126, 183

Snow Flat, 37

Snow Plant, 136

Soda Springs, 64, 135, 139, 141,
140

Southern Pacific Railroad, 184

Spermophiles, 162

Stanford Point, 1S7

Starr King. Mt.. 86, 113, 22. .32.
84, 119, 121

Smnmer Snowfields, 118

Sterling. Geo., quoted. 135

Sunrise Trail. .'54

Tahoe. Lake. 61. 62. 67

Tamarack Pine, see Pines. Lodge-
pole or Tamarack

Ten Lake Basin. 183. 57

Taft Point, 182

Tamarack Pine, see Pine. Lodge
pole

Tenaya Canon, 100, 104. 183. 41

46, 55, 93, 103, 112
Tenaya Creek, 100. 102, 40
Tenaya Glacier. 104

Tenaya, Indian Chief, 36, 4 2. 46

50
Tenaya Lake, 48, 49, 62, 64, 102

184, 16, 38, 49. 59. 102, 103
Tenaya Lake Trail, 26
Tenaya Peak, 29, 38
Ten Lake Basin, 57
Three Brothers, 46, 94, 111, 183,

47, 78

Thousand Island Lake, 64

Tilden Lake, 28

Till Till Creek, 152. 157

Tioga Lake, 16S. 27

Tioga Pass, 60. 184. 61

Tioga Road, 36. 40. 61. 62. 139,

140. 183, 16, 49, 57, 39, 61,

63. 67
Tower Peak, 28
Trails, 112, 116, 124-133, 181-4

— Forsyth Pass Trail, 184
— Harden Lake Trail, 126

— Ledge Trail, 182

— Long Trail, 111

—Pohono Trail, 71, 111, 113, 182

— "Mift Trail," 181

—■■Short Trail," 100

—Snow Creek Trail, 183

— Sunrise Trail, 54

— Yosemite Pass Trail, 184

Transportation, 184

Triple Divide Peak. 118, 111,

123
Trout. 128-130. 182
Tueeulala Falls, 153

Tuolumne Canon. 104, 126, 139.

140, 144, 146, 156, 158, 22,

39, 57, 138, 143, 150
Tuolumne Falls. 145. 142
Tuolumne Glacier, 100. 104
Tuolumne Meadows, 135, 141,

167, 183, 184, 49, 54, 50, 131,

140
Tuolumne Pass, 116
Tuolumne Peak, 29
Tuolumne River. 52. 140. 144,

150. 154, 120, 138, 140, 150.

151
■•Tutockahnulah." 32, 34
Twin Lake, 2.S
■'Twins." The. ISO
"L'mbrella Tree." 48
Unicorn Peak, 29, 129
Union Point. 93, 182, 31
University of California. IRS
Van Dyke. Henry, quoted. 17
Vernal Fall, 62. 88. 92. 181. 182.

23, 89, 01, 112
X'irginia Caiion, 145, 56
\;ogelsang Pass, 128, 117, 120
X'olunteer Peak, 146
Walker, Capt. Jos, R,, 36-40
Walker Lake, 36
Wapama Falls. 1*53, 158
Washburn Lake, 92.129. 182.24,

113
Washington Column, 94. 8, 41
Waterfalls, 24, 25. 30. 112
Waterwheel Falls, 125, 145, 144,

145, 146, 147
Waterwheel Trail, 126
Watkins, Mt., 100, 183. 43
Wawona, 57, 69, 70, ."3, 70
—Road. 71. 120, 182
Western Yellow Pine, see Pines,

Western Yellow
Wheeler, Benjamin Ide, 52
White - bark Pine, see Pines,

White-bark
White Cascade, 145, 140
White Fir. see Firs
Whitney, Tosiah D,, 78, 81, 190
Wildcat Point, 141
Wild flowers, 28, 25, 45
Williams Bute, 36
Wilson Creek Canon. 146. 136
Winter Mountaineering, 120-4
Winter Sports in Yosemite, 74
Wordsworth, William, quoted, 69,

111
Yellow pine, see Pines, Western

yellow
Yellowstone National Park, 22
Yosemite, name, 4 4
—Creek, 84, 86, 183
—Falls, 84, 111. 181. 183, 68.

81. 82, 83, 84, 86, 88
—Falls Trail, 183, 32, 80
—Glacier, 78-81
—Lake, 82
— Literature, 190
—Lodge, 183. 187
—Museum, 189
— Natio.nal Park, 44, 50-53

Congressional appropriations

for. 64. 66
Roads. 56-64
Visitors to, 57, 64
— National Park Company, 184.

187-8
— Photographs and Moving Pic-
tures. 191
—Point. 93. Ill, 183, 83, 85
— Stage and Turnpike Co,, 184
—Trail. 83

—Valley. 25. 50, 52, 58, 69, 70,
76, 112, 113, 128, 2, 31, 32,
35, 85, 189
—Valley Railroad, 57, 74, 184,

188
—Village, 57, 74, 118, 184, 85
Young Lake, 60
Zigzag Trail, 182, 183.

KUOM YOSEMITK VALLKY TO WAWONA AND THE MAUIl'Ot^A CKOVt;.

Mt. Raymond (8,n4S ft,).

Signal Peak (7.079).

Wawona Point.

Mariposa Grove.

Wawona.

Fish Hatchery.

Eight Mile.

Eleven Mile.

Chinquapin.

Grouse. Creek.

Fort Monroe.

Inspiration Point.

Artist Point.

Old Inspiration I'oint.

Stanford Point.

Crocker l*oint.

17. Dewey Point.

IS. Cathedral Rocks.

11). I'athedral Spires.

20. Taft Point.

21. Sentinel Rock.

22. Sentinel Dome.

23. Union Point.

24. Glacier Point.

25. Sentinel Hotel, Yosemite Village.

26. Site of proposed new Hotel.

27. Three Brothers.

2S. Foot of "Short Trail" to Glacier Point.

29. El Capitan.

30. Lookout Point.

31. Ostrander Lake.

32. Crescent Lake.

THE LEIGMTON PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO

// TAHOE .J

''i tavern' {{C

[[[[ taKE
^ raffoi

PCABSON ciiy

N £ \J a D a

S ^

"" O

^ d
o o

c
P

n eg CO 3

CO « oa ''^^
— c4 ^ l«
'TiS d i^ 3

"so

t^-^S

^S'O

o
to

iii;

JC^^S^

><
>>—

4> 4) a»«> ^

eg m ^

i> -^ o 7i^

1) c

0 0 0**=*

S^s*

u;k

^t"tH

Jt-

ICS*^ J ^ O

?;: -^ -^

S < a-

Z u s

1 ■ , i^

a> CO o

^ CO =•

o 2

•^:S CD

a ^ 0)

s = «

z; a 3

s ca w

^ 0

« » 5

c«

•S ill)

(D o

^ a

■ T3

<U —

O) 0)

'^ CO
M

cd 0)

CO d

p 1)

CV QJ

^ 5

0 o

a S3

<— • ca

3 a

o o a

ft o

>. o •-

S H ca

Q> >i a>

« 'E-g

.C o c

fe - S

CO 4_1

' ^ cc

"■a
!3>

- SI

a M
^ J5

0) O cl 0)
c« ►" t~

CO (U

ID S

^ a

>
•'til o

dj aj
o -^

■5 =«

•o a; !S

i: o

ca — *j c

(^ « a; ce E

S -^ --s i; -

c ^ E — I)

- o S <^ .5

c ca

> 00

oh cp
. ^

a; C
J2 (l,

t^ T. ^

(1) a
J3 "

s a

0£ •
-I

H ca

t-i ~ ai
CO

4-1 * OJ

o Ji ^

c <f c; .

H ir. .— i,-

O, w

:£.!

^ 00*0 c3

a. o 4,0^

J !>— a?
^ '. cs 0 S

ocm o

J me^

-to

' ""■

K"3

"at" crj

I" -

tJ o -J O C'' 1

»-' ^ d -

'- * 1-— 5

'I' c <i; p; r;

cZ'5 c o

n c cd ~ •"

6, .-•

-tccBi

» --ca

o ?• cd
= i>

— ^ a)

»-tw«^4Ccct» eooso»-'W«"ru;sct-ooos

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Texts

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Yosemite and its High Sierra"

See other formats